Willow's Girl s4 bts pt 6 WT R
by spikeme4now
Summary: Behind the scenes of TYG and WAY


Title: WILLOW'S GIRL Series: S4 Behind The Scenes Author: spikeme4now4200 Email: spikeme4now4200@yahoo.com.au Copyright: December 31 2002  
  
Spoilers: You'll be spoiled if you haven't seen Season 4. The episodes "This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You" form the background of this fic. Everything up to and including these episodes is fair game for spoilerage.  
  
Pairing: Willow/Tara  
  
Rating: R Rating Disclaimer: These girls are crazy about each other - I just can't seem to cool them down. ;-) Disclaimer: The Story is mine. However, I don't own any of the characters created by Joss Whedon et al. . . You all know who they are. I don't wish to harm them; I simply want to play with them a little :-)  
  
Feedback: Yes Please!!!! I live for feedback!!!! It keeps me writing, and I'll reply to anyone who emails me. ^_^ Distribution: Everywhere and Anywhere, just let me know where.  
  
Summary: A behind the scenes take on what happened between Willow and Tara during the Season 4 episodes This Year's Girl and Who Are You.  
  
Author's Notes: This is in response to the challenge I posted on the [willowtarafanficstation] mailing list early October. I thought it would be cool to remember how the Willow/Tara relationship first started. This is the 6th in a series of 9 behind-the-scenes stories that deal with the start of the W/T relationship. The series starts with the episode "Hush" and ends with the episode "New Moon Rising." Each story can be read as a standalone, and goes behind the scenes of one episode. I'll try to have one up every week or two.  
  
Extra Note: Even though each story can be read as a standalone, you might want to read my previous stories as well. If you can't find them, just send me an email, and I'll be happy to send 'em to you. :-)  
  
Last Note: I've done my best to have this finished as quickly as possible - but what with the holiday season and all those pesky parties and family gatherings and stuff, it makes finding the time to write a little difficult. LOL Another thing, this story is like two-in-one (twice as long as the last one), seeing as it comprises both TYG and WAY, so naturally it's taken me longer to write, especially since I had to make sure I got certain scenes just right . . . i.e. the "I'm Yours" scene, the Flaming-O ritual etc . . .  
  
Anyway, here it is - finally. ENJOY :-)  
  
  
  
***  
  
As Willow stirred that morning, so did Tara. They were holding each other so tightly that the slightest movement from either of them was instantly felt. After a moment, the girls shifted their heads to meet one another's gaze, all without pulling away.  
  
Willow was the first to speak. "Hey," she said softly.  
  
"Hey," Tara returned shyly. She'd been so scared yesterday that Willow had changed her mind about them, but now that she knew better, she still couldn't help wondering where they went from here. Would Willow try to kiss her again . . . or would she slow their relationship down; reduce the contact between them; the hugs; the friendly kisses. . ? Whatever happened, Tara knew she'd be happy as long as Willow remained in her life.  
  
Willow could see the worry in Tara's eye, and was suddenly desperate to comfort the girl. "Morning," she smiled, before brushing a soft kiss against Tara's cheek.  
  
As she pulled away, she looked deep into Tara's eyes and smiled. Willow wanted to let the girl know that she didn't have to worry; that things hadn't changed between them . . . only they had . . . Things were different now . . . they'd almost shared a real kiss; something that would've finally brought them over the line they'd been playing with. However, all they'd managed to do was simply blur the line, making them both more confused than ever before . . . and Willow didn't know that if by almost crossing the line, they had crossed it, or if they had to try again in order to actually cross it. The best way to solve that problem Willow realised was to just go ahead and kiss Tara, thereby removing any doubts about where they stood. However, that was easier said than done . . .  
  
When she'd moved to kiss Tara in the laundry room, Willow hadn't really been thinking; the moment was right, and she'd let her emotions and memories consume her, making it that much easier to initiate their first kiss. Willow would therefore need some kind of signal from Tara before she tried to kiss her again, in order to replicate the situation. The moment had to be perfect, and if too much time was spent thinking about it and planning it out, then she'd just be too awkward and concerned with the mechanics of the whole thing. Their first kiss would come when she wasn't thinking of the kiss itself, but of simply expressing her emotions. Right now, their almost kiss was too fresh in her mind and she needed to distance herself from it, before she could feel comfortable enough to try it again.  
  
She'd actually wanted to kiss Tara last night, to finish what she'd started in the laundry room. However, as soon as the thought had entered her mind, she'd frozen nervously; the moment just hadn't felt right. Her body had been unable to move, and she'd simply tightened her grip on Tara, reliving the day's events in her mind; going over them again and again as she succumbed to sleep . . .  
  
*** After rushing out of the laundry room, she'd headed straight to her dorm, grabbed her books and spent the hour before class studying in the library; closing her mind off to thoughts of Tara and their almost kiss. After her final class, she'd made her way over to Xander's, where she'd been roped into a night of demon-talk and card playing.  
  
She hadn't been much of a participant in either activity however; her thoughts linked to Tara and their kissing incident. She was feeling very confused after what had almost happened, and was too shy to go back to Tara's; shy because the kiss hadn't actually happened . . . Willow knew that if they had actually gone through with it, she'd have felt a lot better than she did now; with everything all up in the air . . .  
  
She'd exposed herself to Tara; let the girl know she wanted to kiss her, and now she was left with having to go through the whole process again. When their lips had touched, the whole world had faded away, started to make sense . . . therefore, the problem lay with the fact that she now knew how exquisite their first kiss could be; and she needed to make sure that when they actually kissed, everything was perfect . . . that she didn't over-think everything . . . make a mess out of it . . .  
  
The sparkage she'd felt, also scared Willow in a very different way. Up until that moment, she'd still had one tiny little doubt hidden away in her mind as to whether or not she could actually be in a gay relationship. When her lips had met Tara's for that brief moment, all her doubts had faded. The world had come crashing down around her and she knew that for once in her life she'd finally done something right; that this was who she was, and where she was supposed to be. Tara had awakened a part of her that she'd kept hidden for so long, and now that her secret had been revealed, she knew she couldn't hide from it any longer . . .  
  
She'd put off introducing Tara to her friends, partly because she wanted Tara all to herself, and partly because she knew that once her friends saw them together, they'd soon figure out how close they actually were . . . Now the threat was even greater; her feelings for Tara were so strong, that she'd never be able to hide them . . .and the reaction of her friends and family terrified her.  
  
She had no idea what she wanted to do, but all she did know, was that a life without Tara was unimaginable . . . It was then that she'd stood up from the table, told everyone she was tired, and walked home . . . to Tara . . .  
  
***  
  
Looking at Willow, Tara noticed how she seemed elsewhere. "You okay?" She asked, bringing the girl out of her thoughts.  
  
Willow took a moment to compose herself before replying. "I was just . . . thinking."  
  
"About what?" Tara asked.  
  
Willow smiled softly, impulsively lifting her hand to Tara's cheek. She caressed her friend's cheekbone with her thumb as she replied. "Last few days . . ."  
  
Tara's breathing became erratic at Willow's touch, and also at her words. "Oh . . ." she trailed off.  
  
Willow slowly pulled her hand away, becoming flustered by their proximity. "I . . ." Willow hesitated. She wanted to let Tara know how much she meant to her. "I . . ." she trailed off again, finding it difficult to get the words out.  
  
Tara could see the emotion in Willow's eye, and suddenly, she understood. Words were unnecessary between them; all she needed to do was look at Willow to realise the truth. Their relationship was developing rapidly; Willow seemed to have feelings for her, and their first kiss would happen, but only when the time was right . . . when they were both drawn into the moment, and not over-analysing everything . . . With those thoughts, Tara suddenly felt bold, and reached a hand over to cup her friend's cheek.  
  
"I get it." She caressed Willow's cheek for only a second before pulling away.  
  
Willow smiled, feeling buzzed from Tara's touch. Suddenly she remembered her responsibilities. Last night, Buffy had been too busy patrolling to make an appearance, that's why Giles had organised a Scooby meeting for this morning.  
  
Willow slowly dragged herself out of bed. "I'm gonna have a shower," she began. "Early morning Scooby meeting . . ."  
  
Tara watched Willow as she got up. "I...I put all your stuff in there," she pointed towards the dresser. "I made room in the b..bottom drawer . . . " she trailed off shyly.  
  
Willow looked down at Tara and smiled. "Thanks." She was feeling ecstatic; Tara had given her a drawer . . . kinda moved her in . . . The implications of it sent a warm feeling straight through her body. Feeling buzzed, she quickly opened the drawer and found something to wear. She then turned back towards Tara. "Towel?" she asked.  
  
Tara smiled. "Closet," she pointed.  
  
"Thanks," Willow replied, walking towards the closet. After grabbing a towel, she searched through her bag for her hat, the one that complemented her outfit. She then located her toiletry bag, before rushing out the door.  
  
*** As Tara got dressed, she let her thoughts drift back to yesterday . . .  
  
After she'd left the laundry room, Tara had brought all their stuff back to her dorm, her mind still on their almost kiss. She'd never expected Willow would actually kiss her, but when she'd felt their lips together for that brief moment, Tara's emotions had completely closed around her, bringing all her feelings to the forefront of her mind. She'd thought it was so cruel to have their kiss end before she could actually experience it.  
  
As she'd begun putting away her laundry, Tara had wondered what to do with Willow's stuff. She'd glanced over at the girl's bag; deciding it wouldn't be right to put the newly laundered stuff back into it. Quickly making her mind up, Tara decided that it might be best if she set aside a drawer-she wanted to make the girl feel completely at home in her room, especially now that they'd almost shared a real kiss . . .  
  
It had taken her only a few minutes to empty out the contents of her bottom drawer, which she mainly used to store old sweaters in anyway. As she'd put away Willow's clothes, Tara had admired her friend's fashion sense; thinking that the girl had some of the most adorable outfits she'd ever seen . . . they completely suited Willow's personality.  
  
Once the clothes had been put away, Tara made room for the girl's underwear. As she gently placed Willow's collection of bras and panties next to her clothes, she'd had to force herself to keep her mind out of the gutter; she'd kept wondering what Willow would look like wearing the various articles of clothing . . .  
  
After she'd finished putting away all their stuff, Tara had gathered up her books, and headed off to her last couple of classes for the day. It was dark out once she'd finally gotten back to her room, and her stomach reminded her it was dinnertime. She'd headed straight for the cafeteria, rushing her dinner in case Willow had decided to come back.  
  
When she'd walked back into her room, Tara had been a little disappointed to notice Willow wasn't there yet. It was then that her worrying had begun. She'd recalled how Willow had rushed out of the laundry room earlier that day, what if the girl had freaked. . ? What if Willow had decided she'd made a mistake about them . . . that kissing her hadn't been one of her best moves. . ? What if Willow had been so disgusted by their almost kiss, that she never wanted to see her again. . ?  
  
As the hours had ticked by, without any sign of Willow, Tara's emotions had continued to nose-dive. She'd opened up her books, tried her best to focus on some homework instead, but her mind had kept drifting back to Willow. She loved the girl so much, and had been totally thrilled when she'd initiated the kiss, but she finally realised what an idiot she was to think that Willow might've actually enjoyed it. Of course Willow would pull away . . . Tara was nothing . . . a nobody . . . she didn't deserve to have someone like Willow in her life. What on earth had made her think there might ever be a possibility that this kind beautiful warm-hearted girl would ever have feelings for her. . ?  
  
She'd become even more distressed at that point, and had quickly slipped into her nightclothes. She'd crawled into bed and closed her eyes, letting the pain wash over her. She'd made up her mind that Willow was probably never coming back to her room, that the girl had decided to end all ties with her. Suddenly she remembered how she'd just given Willow a drawer . . . how stupid of her to assume so much . . .  
  
The tears had begun flowing then, starting off as a small trickle, and quickly escalating into full-blown sobs. She'd curled herself up as the tears continued to fall, unable to shake the thought that she might never see Willow again. She'd cried for almost an hour, before she'd become too worn out to cry anymore. She still couldn't shake her overwhelming sadness though, and sleep just would not come. Just when she'd felt like she was about to start crying again, she'd heard the door open, and Willow had come back into her room . . . crawled into bed with her, and made everything all right again . . .  
  
Tara smiled at her thoughts, a warm feeling creeping into her body. Willow always seemed to know exactly how to make her feel better.  
  
***  
  
When Willow walked back into the room, Tara was sitting cross-legged on the bed, leafing through a textbook.  
  
"Hey," Willow greeted, dumping her towel in the hamper.  
  
Tara looked up as Willow entered the room. "Hey Willow," she smiled warmly. "Nice hat." Willow was wearing this adorable multi-coloured hat, which Tara had not seen her wear before.  
  
"Thanks," Willow smiled. "You like?"  
  
Tara nodded, her grin widening. "It's cute." She thought Willow looked utterly adorable in it.  
  
Willow blushed, feeling pleased by the girl's compliment. Quickly composing herself though, she moved towards Tara, stopping once she'd reached the bed. "I'm gonna head off." She didn't really want to go, but when duty called . . .  
  
"Okay," Tara smiled.  
  
"I'm worried about Buffy," Willow continued. "She's been patrolling a lot these past few days, I wanna spend some time with her; make sure she's all right . . . I don't think she's dealing with the whole Riley thing, ya know . . ."  
  
Tara grinned at Willow; she was such a caring person . . . "I get it . . ."  
  
"Great!" Willow smiled, pleased that Tara understood. "I've got classes later today," she continued, wanting to let Tara know where she'd be. "And I'll probably spend part of the night doing Scooby time . . . so I might be late coming back tonight . . ."  
  
Tara couldn't help feeling a little disappointed, but didn't want to make an issue out of it. She had no right to make demands on Willow's time; the girl had friends, responsibilities, it's not like Willow was her girlfriend or anything . . . Which suddenly brought back the question Tara had been asking herself a lot lately; what exactly was the nature of her relationship with Willow. . ?  
  
Tara voiced none of her thoughts however, choosing instead to smile and nod. "Okay."  
  
Willow smiled back, before leaning down to press a soft kiss against Tara's cheek. She closed her eyes at the sensation, pulling away after a few seconds. "Bye," she said huskily, her face flushed from the contact. "I'll see ya later."  
  
Tara watched in silence as Willow left the room, her skin tingling from the brief kiss. She quickly turned her attention back to the textbook in her lap, realising it was pointless to linger on her negative thoughts. So what if Willow wasn't going to be here all day . . . she'd be with her later tonight . . . With those thoughts, Tara resumed her studying; she had a small test this afternoon, and she'd only just remembered about it; her mind having been otherwise occupied lately.  
  
***  
  
Tara had just gotten back from dinner and was lounging in her favourite chair, leisurely perusing a spell book; when all of a sudden her door burst open, and Willow stepped inside. She lifted her head in surprise, her eyes immediately taking in Willow's demeanour. The girl was flushed, seemingly excited about something, and her breathing was a little heavy, almost as if she'd run all the way here.  
  
Willow had been in a rush to get to Tara's dorm, eager to let her know that Riley was back. Her bond with Tara was becoming so strong, that Willow felt like she had to instantly share everything with the girl, especially good news. As she'd burst through the door, the only thought in her mind had been how she couldn't wait to talk to Tara; to let her know what had happened, anticipating the look of delight on the girl's face.  
  
After a moment, Tara noticed the girl had finally regained her breath "Willow?" she inquired, her curiosity stirred.  
  
"Hey Tara," Willow grinned, moving to sit on the bed. "Great news . . ."  
  
"Yeah?" she asked, wondering what Willow could mean.  
  
Willow's grin widened as she spoke. "Riley's back!"  
  
Tara smiled, genuinely pleased. "That's great."  
  
"Yeah," Willow continued excitedly. "He just appeared in Xander's basement. We'd been patrolling with Buffy-Xander and I-when we came across some demon-art left by Adam. He'd gutted a demon; strewn him up . . . 'Silence of the Lambs' style. It was very disturbing . . . Anyway, we quickly went back to Xander's, where we started discussing the evilness of Adam and consequently the Initiative-cause ya know, they created him. Well, that's when Buffy got extra wigged about Riley, and started mounting this big ole campaign to rescue him, when out of nowhere he just popped up, spouting the words "Am I really worth all that." It was soooo cute, and Buffy went straight into his arms . . . "  
  
Tara was grinning all throughout Willow's babble-fest; the girl had been so adorable, the way her face had lit up with excitement, and her hands had flayed around as she'd spoken . . . Tara would never get tired of Willow's little mannerisms. "So, he's okay?" she asked.  
  
Willow nodded. "Pretty much," she began. "He's still not totally healed, but it looks like the Initiative took fairly good care of him . . . he doesn't look like he's been mistreated or anything."  
  
"I'm glad," Tara responded with a smile.  
  
"Me too," Willow replied. "Buffy's checking him over now though," she continued. "They're back at our dorm . . . "  
  
"Oh," Tara giggled.  
  
Willow started giggling as well, following the girl's train of thought. "Yeah," she let out. "That's why I figured they could ah, use a little bit of um . . . privacy . . ." Her giggles died down as she suddenly recalled a conversation. "Um, Tara . . ." she trailed off, realising the inference behind it.  
  
"What is it?" Tara asked.  
  
"It's just . . ." she hesitated. "Buffy and Riley were talking . . . and they kinda figured that the Initiative wasn't really gonna go after us right now . . . and that it'd probably be okay for us to stop hiding out and stuff . . ."  
  
"I see," Tara whispered. She suddenly felt intensely disappointed. "So you'll be able to go b..back to your own d..dorm now . . ."  
  
"It looks that way . . . " Willow dragged her eyes to the floor. She was in no way happy about the conversation, and couldn't quite meet Tara's eyes.  
  
Tara was also unable to look at Willow, scared that if she did the tears might start flowing. "Tonight. . ?" she forced herself to ask.  
  
"I guess . . ." Willow trailed off; her heart just wasn't in her response. Spending the night away from Tara was the last thing she wanted to do, but now that she had every reason to go back to her own dorm; she had no excuse for staying at Tara's . . . Besides, Buffy would be wondering where she was all night, and Willow wasn't quite ready to have that conversation with her friend just yet.  
  
Tara took a moment to compose herself before replying. "Okay . . ."  
  
"Well . . . I better go," Willow continued, her heart going out to Tara as she looked up and noticed the girl's disappointment. She felt terrible about it, but there was nothing she could do . . . "Giles wants us to meet at his place for a Scooby meeting . . ."  
  
Tara nodded again, forcing herself to remain calm. "I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked hopefully.  
  
"Definitely," Willow let out forcefully. "I'll call you in the morning."  
  
Tara smiled, closing her eyes as Willow walked over and kissed her cheek. She was suddenly feeling better, comforted by the feel of Willow's lips against her skin. She was slightly flushed when Willow pulled away a moment later. "Okay," she breathed out.  
  
Willow looked at Tara intently, wanting to let her know how much she'd miss her tonight . . . As she opened her mouth to speak however, her breath caught in her throat and she was unable to get the words out. She continued staring into Tara's eyes for a moment, before leaning down to press another kiss against the girl's cheek. "I'll see ya," Willow called out, pulling away before exiting the room.  
  
As she watched her friend go, Tara couldn't help feeling disappointed by Willow's actions. She knew why the girl wasn't staying over tonight; it had nothing to do with Willow not wanting her company, and everything to do with the fact she had no excuse to stay over. Willow didn't want her friends to know about her, and that thought did not sit well with Tara.  
  
Suddenly, Tara relented; she should've known this moment was coming; Willow hadn't moved in permanently, she'd only been hiding out temporarily . . . of course she would go back to her own room. Willow was not her girlfriend, and just because it'd felt really good to sleep with her every night this week, it didn't mean she had a right to expect it every night in the future.  
  
Tara realised she was just being selfish . . . what right did she have anyway; expecting Willow to tell her friends about her. . ? She should just be thankful to have Willow in her life at all; she knew very well it was more than she deserved. With that thought, Tara turned her attention back to the spell book in her lap; she needed some way to take her mind off Willow, especially if she wanted to actually get some sleep tonight . . .  
  
***  
  
When Willow got home that night, she took off her hat and looked around their empty dorm in silence. Buffy had walked her home after the meeting, but had quickly left to go on a Faith hunt, saying she was going to stop by Riley's first in order to tell him about the dark Slayer.  
  
As she continued looking around the room, Willow couldn't shake the feeling of abandonment and loneliness. Finding out that Faith was back had completely stunned the red-haired hacker, and she just couldn't handle being alone tonight. She turned around and headed back out the door, suddenly not caring if Buffy decided to question her about her whereabouts; she wanted to be with Tara too much to worry about what her friend might think . . .  
  
Ten minutes later, she was standing outside Tara's dorm room, silently staring at the girl's door. She realised it was late, and that Tara would most likely be asleep already. That's when the guilt set in; she didn't want to wake the poor girl up just because she needed some company-her company to be exact; Willow didn't want to be anywhere tonight besides Tara's arms. She wanted to crawl into (the now familiar) bed; lay her head down against Tara's chest, and snuggle up tightly as she fell asleep.  
  
Tara's presence calmed her in a way no one else could; simply being in the same room with the girl was enough to make Willow feel comforted, and that's exactly what she needed tonight. Now that Faith was up and about again, Willow could feel her old feelings of fear and loathing coming back to her, along with the painful memory of how the girl had usurped her position; taken away her two best friends, and consequently hurt them both.  
  
She needed someone to talk to . . . someone to help her deal with her emotions . . . who'd help her relax . . . Besides, she'd gotten so used to holding onto Tara in bed, that the very idea of spending a night without her was just too unpleasant. With that notion, Willow thought to hell with her guilt; Tara was the only person Willow could turn to right now, and she just hoped the girl wouldn't mind being disturbed so late . . .  
  
***  
  
Tara sighed as she twisted in bed, unable to get to sleep. She looked at her clock; it was after 1:00am. This was the first night in about a week that she'd be sleeping without Willow, and she felt the girl's absence greatly. As she turned around yet again, she was startled to hear the door opening. She quickly sat up, wondering who it could be . . . the answer came to her instantly. "Willow?"  
  
Willow turned towards Tara's voice. "Hey," she began. "Sorry to wake you . . ."  
  
Tara leaned over and switched on the lamp. "That's okay," she replied. "I w..wasn't really asleep . . ."  
  
Willow smiled at Tara's words; pleased she hadn't woken the girl. "I'm glad . . ." She then took off her shoes, and moved towards the empty side of the bed. She pulled down the covers, positioning herself so that she was sitting cross-legged facing Tara.  
  
Tara was utterly floored to see Willow in her room. She hadn't expected the girl to show up, and as she looked into Willow's eyes, she suddenly sensed a disturbance in her energy. Willow appeared to be very troubled about something. "What's wrong?" she asked instantly.  
  
Willow smiled at Tara's intuitiveness. "How do you know something's wrong?" she asked lightly.  
  
"Is there?" Tara replied softly. She could tell Willow wanted to talk about something, but wasn't going to push if she wasn't ready.  
  
"Kinda . . ." Willow trailed off. She didn't know where to start, how much to tell her, or even if she should actually be burdening Tara with her problems . . . sure, she needed someone to talk to . . . yet as she looked into Tara's eyes, she could instantly feel herself relaxing, becoming drawn into the intensity of her friend's gaze.  
  
Tara could see Willow calming down, but there was still something troubling her. Tara pulled down the covers further as she turned to face Willow head on. Tentatively, she reached her hand out and gently squeezed Willow's knee. "Tell me . . ." she invited her friend softly, before pulling her hand back.  
  
Looking into Tara's eyes, seeing the deep compassion that lay there, hearing the girl's soft words . . . Willow felt her reservations dissolving. All the emotions she'd been bottling up since hearing about Faith came crashing down on her, and she was suddenly desperate for comfort. On impulse, she leaned over and wrapped her arms fervently around Tara.  
  
Tara was a little surprised by Willow's actions, but instantly returned the hug. She could see how upset Willow was, and the only thought in Tara's mind right now was that she wanted to make her feel better. She held the girl tightly, doing her best to offer Willow some comfort.  
  
Willow's head was now resting against her shoulder, and Tara could almost physically feel the turbulence in the girl's energy. Tara began slowly circling Willow's back with her hand, soothing her the only way she knew how. Tenderly, she reached her other hand up to Willow's neck, as she leaned down and placed a soft kiss against the top of Willow's head.  
  
As Tara held onto her, Willow could feel herself relaxing. After a moment, she began losing herself in the sensation of Tara's touch, tightening her grip as she felt the girl's gentle kiss against her hair. She couldn't believe how soothing Tara was, how wonderful it felt just to be in the girl's arms. Tara's hand on her back felt like magick, as it gently circled around, exuding a calming energy.  
  
Tara continued caressing Willow's back and began stroking her hair, while she dropped her head down to the girl's shoulder. Unconsciously, she was doing the same thing that Willow had done the other week; when she'd soothed Tara after she'd botched the Thespia spell-Tara was now releasing her own energy, using it to calm her friend down . . . She suddenly realised what she was doing, and it amazed her . . . It was like they brought this hidden energy out of one another . . . The other day had been Willow's first time performing the mojo, and today it was her first time . . .  
  
Willow also realised what Tara was doing, and it brought the same thoughts to her own mind. She was constantly being amazed by the intensity of the bond she shared with Tara. As the girl's energy continued to calm her, Willow eventually decided it was time to speak.  
  
"Thank you," she whispered, her breath brushing against Tara's neck.  
  
Tara felt her skin sizzle as Willow spoke. She stoped her hand movements, choosing instead to tighten her hold. She brought her hand back down to Willow's neck, while her other pressed itself tightly against Willow's back. "I.it's no problem," she whispered against Willow's hair.  
  
Slowly, Willow pulled away to look at Tara. She moved her hand from around Tara's shoulder, so that both her arms were now wrapped around Tara's waist. "Thank you," she repeated, before leaning over to kiss Tara's cheek.  
  
As Willow ended the kiss, Tara could feel her whole body warming from the contact. It was incredible how Willow's brief kisses always seemed to have an effect on her nervous system. Looking into Willow's eyes, Tara noticed that the girl was still a little troubled. She wanted to let her friend know that she was here to listen, if that's what Willow needed.  
  
"Do you wanna talk about it?" she asked softly.  
  
Willow was feeling buzzed from Tara's energy, and also from the lingering sensation of Tara's skin against her lips. She wanted nothing more than to talk to Tara; that's why she'd come here in the first place. She knew that it was very selfish of her to expect so much from Tara, but the girl was her friend-more than her friend . . . and she really needed someone like that right now.  
  
"You don't mind?" Willow felt compelled to ask. Despite their closeness, she still didn't want to impose on her friend's good nature.  
  
Tara smiled at Willow's words. She couldn't describe the joy she was feeling right now. It pleased her to no end, that Willow would come to her when she was upset, that she looked on her as someone she could talk to . . . someone she could confide in. It showed her that Willow trusted her, thought of her as a friend-maybe even more than a friend . . . She would always be there for Willow if she needed her.  
  
Feeling emotional, Tara slowly lifted her hands to Willow's face, cupping the girl's cheeks. She looked deeply into her eyes for a moment, before bringing Willow's forehead down to her lips. A few seconds later she pulled away, flushed.  
  
She was still cupping Willow's face as she whispered her reply. "I...I'm always here if you need to talk . . ." She brought her hands down to her side, suddenly shy about what she'd just said.  
  
Willow tightened her arms around Tara's waist. She felt like her heart would explode with happiness from Tara's words. The way she said them- shyly . . . hesitantly . . . and yet with such emotion and honesty, brought a tear to Willow's eye. She dropped her head back down to the girl's shoulder, immersing herself in the embrace.  
  
As Willow pulled her close, Tara could feel her shyness fading away. She wrapped her own arms around Willow's shoulders, holding her tightly. Being in Willow's arms was the single most heavenly feeling she'd ever experienced. She would never get used to being held by Willow; she was the luckiest person on the entire planet to have a girl like Willow in her life.  
  
A moment later, Willow pulled away. She kept her arms around Tara's waist however, as she gazed into the girl's eyes. "Thank you," she said with meaning.  
  
"Any time," Tara replied shyly. She looked at Willow expectantly, silently asking her to begin. She didn't want to push her though, knowing that Willow would talk about what was bothering her whenever she felt ready.  
  
Willow smiled at Tara. She didn't know where to begin her story, and wanted to be comfortable while she spoke. The most comfortable place in Willow's mind however, was the circle of Tara's arms. She wanted to lie down on the bed, and have the girl hold her tight. She had no idea how to voice her need though, seeing as she was pretty much shy by nature.  
  
"Um Tara . . ." she trailed off, brining her arms out from around her friend's waist.  
  
"Yes . . ." Tara responded, instantly missing the contact.  
  
"Could we um . . . lie down?" Willow was unable to meet Tara's eyes as she asked the question. "I um . . . wanna be comfortable while I uh . . . talk . . . " she continued by way of explanation.  
  
"Of course," Tara replied quickly. She smiled at Willow, sensing the girl's sudden shyness. What was Willow up to? Slowly, Tara shifted away from her friend as she moved to lie down on the bed. She lay on her back, looking up at Willow expectantly.  
  
As Willow looked down at Tara, she was pleased to see the girl was on her back; it would make her next move a lot easier. Taking a deep breath, Willow drew all her courage together before leaning down and positioning herself against Tara. She placed her head against Tara's chest-just under her chin, while she snaked an arm around the girl's waist.  
  
Tara was bowled over by Willow's actions, but as her surprise died down, she suddenly realised what Willow wanted. Tentatively, she reached her left arm around Willow's back, while her right one moved to cover the arm resting against her waist. Willow wanted to snuggle up together, to be comforted while she spoke. Tara couldn't help but feel overjoyed by the prospect. On impulse, she moved her left hand up Willow's back, to stroke the girl's hair. With her other hand, she began unwittingly caressing the arm at her waist.  
  
Willow sighed as Tara began stroking her hair and caressing her arm. She could feel the sparks racing all through her body at Tara's touch. "Mmmm," she sighed.  
  
Tara smiled at Willow as her hands continued their tender movements. Now that she was getting used to having Willow in her arms, Tara couldn't help but throw herself into the moment. Under normal circumstances, she would never dream of holding Willow like this . . . stroking her hair . . . gently running her fingers along Willow's arm . . . but it was obvious that Willow was distressed - in need of comfort, and the only way Tara knew how to comfort Willow was by caressing her.  
  
"You r..ready to talk?" she asked eventually.  
  
Willow thought about Tara's question for a moment. Was she ready to start talking? The answer was yes; Tara's hands were comforting her, relaxing her so that she was calm enough to speak about Faith.  
  
"Yeah," she began, closing her eyes. She thought for a moment, as she decided what she wanted to say first. "I guess I should start with the meeting."  
  
"Okay," Tara agreed. She let her hand drop from Willow's hair, deciding to run it along Willow's back for a while instead.  
  
"Well," Willow began slowly, trying to remain focused, as her skin hummed from Tara's touch. "We were sitting around talking and stuff," she continued slowly. "When Buffy got a phone call . . . it was the hospital, letting her know that Faith was out of her coma."  
  
"Who's Faith?" Tara asked as she continued caressing Willow.  
  
Willow was expecting the question. "She's a Slayer . . ."  
  
Tara was confused by Willow's words. "I thought Buffy was a Slayer?" she asked. "Isn't there only one?"  
  
"That's right," Willow replied. "But Buffy died . . ."  
  
Tara stopped caressing Willow, her hands frozen in shock. "What?"  
  
Willow immediately regretted her choice of words. "I don't mean she's dead," Willow reassured. "Only, she was . . ."  
  
Tara was still confused. "What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
"It happened about three years ago," Willow continued. "Buffy fought this bad-ass vamp known as the Master, she killed him, but before that she drowned . . .only for a moment though. Xander and Angel were with her, and Xander gave her CPR, so she was okay."  
  
Tara was still confused, but she resumed caressing Willow. "Oh . . ."  
  
Willow could sense this and continued her explanation. "It's like this . . . When a Slayer dies, no matter how briefly, another one is called . . . "  
  
"I see," Tara responded, beginning to understand. "So when Buffy died, Faith was called?"  
  
"Not exactly," Willow replied. "When Buffy died, another Slayer . . . Kendra, was called . . ."  
  
Tara took a moment to process Willow's words. "Then Kendra would've had to die for Faith to be c..called?"  
  
"That's right!" she exclaimed. "A vampire called Drusilla killed her . . . and then Faith showed up near the end of last summer."  
  
Willow paused then, as she remembered the moment. It's weird . . . When Faith first arrived, Buffy was the one who had felt threatened, while she and Xander had been taken in by her. Faith had been new, her stories had been exciting, and she'd been a bit of a novelty . . . How could she have ever thought the dark Slayer was cool . . . ?  
  
Tara noticed the sudden shift in Willow's mood. At the mention of Faith, Willow's energy seemed to have darkened, become a little erratic. She slowed her hand movement along Willow's back, putting more pressure as she released a bit of her energy in order to comfort the girl.  
  
"What were you thinking?" she asked after a moment.  
  
Calmed by Tara's energy, Willow decided to explain. "I was just recalling the day Faith arrived in Sunnydale. It's weird . . . because at that time, we thought she was very cool . . . and by we, I mean Xander and me . . ."  
  
"Cool?" Tara asked, not knowing where this was going.  
  
"Yeah," Willow continued. "She had all these great Slayer-type stories . . . I guess she was a bit of a novelty, being new and all . . . Who'd've thought she'd turn out to be a psychopathic super bitch. " Willow shivered at the thought. She shifted in Tara's arms, tightening her hold on the girl as she sought her comfort.  
  
"What happened?" Tara asked, leaning down to place a quick kiss against Willow's hair.  
  
"It's ironic really," Willow continued. "We were all for Faith, while Buffy was deadest against her. I think she was threatened by her presence . . . she looked on her as competition. Although, as time passed, she and Buffy bonded, became friends . . . I think it was 'cause of the whole Slayer thing; they shared something . . ."  
  
Willow sighed at that. She recalled how left out she'd felt when Buffy and Faith had started hanging out constantly. She'd felt like her best friend had dumped her, like she was inadequate or something. Why would Buffy want her as a friend, when she could have another superhero around, someone who could kill things with her bare hands?  
  
Tara thought about what Willow said. It seemed to her that Willow wasn't too pleased with the bond Buffy shared with Faith. "You felt left out?" Tara asked her softly.  
  
Willow was constantly amazed by how intuitive Tara was. It was almost as if the girl had read her thoughts. "Yeah," she replied. "How do you know that?"  
  
Tara moved her hand up to stroke Willow's hair. "Lucky guess," she quipped.  
  
Willow giggled. "Oh yeah," she replied playfully. "You're sure you can't read minds?"  
  
Tara chuckled, moving her hand back to Willow's back. "Okay, you caught me," she joked.  
  
"Then I don't need to tell you the rest," Willow returned.  
  
"Well," Tara relented. "I'm not that good . . ."  
  
"But you're right," Willow continued as her giggles died down. "I did feel kinda left out . . ." She didn't know why she was telling all this to Tara. She'd never even spoken to Buffy about it, but as usual Tara just seemed to bring the words out of her. Besides, Willow trusted her, and she felt like she could tell Tara anything and she'd understand . . . Why was that?  
  
"They started spending all their time together . . . " Willow continued. "They were out all the time, doing things; slaying, talking, hanging out . . . it was like Buffy didn't even need me around anymore, I was useless . . ."  
  
"I'm sure she never thought that," Tara reassured. She could feel Willow's mood once again becoming darker, and instinctively released some of her own energy to comfort her.  
  
Willow sighed as Tara calmed her down. "I guess you're right," she ventured. "But it didn't really feel that way at the time . . . ya know?"  
  
"I get it," Tara replied. "It must've been terrible; to feel like your b..best friend didn't need you."  
  
Willow smiled, it sure was . . . "I felt totally rejected," she confirmed. "It was horrible . . ."  
  
"But you guys made up?" Tara asked, continuing her hand movements. She just couldn't stop caressing Willow.  
  
"We did," she responded. "But that's when things became kinda rough . . ."  
  
"What do you mean?" Tara asked.  
  
"Well," she began. "Buffy and Faith had been out slaying one night, and Faith accidentally killed a guy, and things just went downhill from there. It turns out that killing someone can really mess with a person's mind, and Faith kinda went off the deep end . . . "  
  
Tara was intrigued with the turn of events. "What did she do?"  
  
"At first she acted like everything was fine," Willow continued. "Buffy and Faith decided not to tell anyone about it. Faith wanted to push it all under the rug. Then one night, Buffy burst into my room, almost in tears. She told me everything that'd happened, and I felt sooo bad for her. All my feelings of rejection totally disappeared, and I think I hated Faith even more 'cause of how she was acting, and how she was dragging Buffy down with her."  
  
Willow paused, recalling the night. She'd felt so bad with how things had been between her and Buffy, but when she'd seen how upset Buffy had been, she'd wanted to grab the nearest weapon and physically hurt Faith for what she'd put her friend through. All her hurt feelings had quickly dissolved, and she'd even felt a little guilty about them. She should've noticed the change in Buffy, seen how much of a bad influence Faith was, and called her up on it, done something about it . . .  
  
Tara could feel Willow's energy churning, becoming unstable. The girl was obviously upset by her memories of the night. Without a second thought, Tara released some more of her own energy as she caressed Willow's back. "You felt responsible?" she asked insightfully.  
  
Willow was relaxing at Tara's touch. "Yeah," she replied softly. How was it that Tara always knew exactly what was on her mind? "I did. I felt like I should've known . . . and maybe if I hadn't been so blinded by my hurt feelings, I could've seen it coming, done something to help her sooner . . ."  
  
Tara leaned down and softly kissed the top of Willow's head, soothing the girl. "It's not your fault Willow," she reassured. "From what you said, it seems as if Buffy w..wouldn't have listened anyway. When you're that c..close to something, you can't really see things for what they are. There's nothing you could've d..done."  
  
"I guess . . ." Willow trailed off, still not entirely convinced.  
  
"You're a good friend Willow," Tara insisted. "You were th..there for her when she needed you . . ."  
  
"Yeah . . ." Willow conceded. Somehow, Tara's words were starting to make a lot of sense. She had been there for Buffy, she'd listened to her, comforted her. Tara was right, there was nothing more she could've done.  
  
"So what happened then?" Tara asked, unconsciously trailing a finger down Willow's arm. She could feel Willow settling down again, and it pleased her to know she was responsible.  
  
"Well, Faith tried to turn everyone against Buffy," Willow began. "She was scared Buffy was gonna rat her in, tell everyone she'd killed the guy. That's why she went to Giles; told him Buffy had committed the murder . . . luckily Giles didn't believe her . . ."  
  
"I'm glad," Tara interjected. She was beginning to see how terrible a person this Faith really was. She wondered what else the Slayer had done to them . . . to Willow. "What else did she do?" Tara asked.  
  
Willow pondered Tara's question. Where should she start? "Well," Willow began. "She hurt my two best friends, kidnapped me, held a knife to my throat, threatened me, tried to kill us all, joined forces with the mayor; who by the way turned into a giant snake demon during graduation . . . But we took care of him by blowing up the school . . . "  
  
Willow took a second to decide what else to tell her. She didn't feel like going into the whole Xander sleeping with Faith thing, so decided to delve into the Angely part instead.  
  
"She also tried to get in between Buffy and Angel," Willow continued. "But, when that didn't work, she tried to kill Angel instead. She hit him with a poisoned arrow, so that he would die a slow and painful death. Ironically, the only thing that could save Angel was to drink the blood of a Slayer . . . so naturally Buffy went after Faith, they got into this huge fight where Buffy stabbed Faith with her own knife. Not one to make things easy though, Faith jumped off the building they were fighting on and landed in a moving truck. Buffy then forced Angel to drink from her instead, and Faith's been in a coma ever since . . ."  
  
"Until today," Tara concluded.  
  
"Right," Willow replied.  
  
Tara could tell by the flow of Willow's energy that there was still something bothering her. Faith had done something else to hurt her, and for some reason Willow had chosen to gloss over it. Why was that? What else could Faith have done to Willow? As Tara thought about it, she suddenly realised Willow had said Faith had hurt her two best friends. Willow had told her about Buffy, but what had Faith done to her other friend Xander? That must be what Willow was leaving out.  
  
"Will," Tara began. She moved her hand up to stroke her hair as she formed the question in her mind. "What did Faith do to your friend Xander?"  
  
Willow's breath caught at Tara's question. She couldn't believe how perceptive Tara was. She'd purposefully avoided talking about Xander, and now the girl had picked up on it. Smiling ruefully, Willow realised she couldn't hide anything from Tara; she was just too insightful.  
  
"She slept with him," Willow let out quietly.  
  
Although she was long since over her infatuation, and had nothing but wholesome friendship-type feelings for him now, the thought of Faith and Xander together still upset her. She'd loved him unrequitedly, and though she'd been with Oz at the time, there was still a part of her that had wondered what it would be like to at least kiss Xander. Luckily, her indiscretions with him had given her closure on her feelings, helped her to get him out of her system, and she'd been so glad Oz had forgiven her.  
  
However, when she'd found out he'd slept with Faith . . . something had clicked. She'd been extremely disappointed and upset. It hurt her to realise he'd shared something with Faith that he'd never share with her. It had been like a double whammy; Buffy and Faith had become close, in a way she'd never be able to, and there Faith was, bonding with Xander as well. She'd felt like Faith had completely taken over her territory, and she hadn't liked that feeling one bit.  
  
"Then she dumped him," Willow continued. "And later, she tried to kill him."  
  
Willow had spent a long time with her thoughts, and Tara could sense how upset the girl was, which made her wonder why. Willow's voice had trembled slightly when she'd mentioned Faith sleeping with Xander, and she could feel how erratic her energy had become. There was definitely more to this than Willow was letting on, but Tara's first priority right now was to calm Willow.  
  
Purposefully, she moved her hand down from Willow's hair, to caress her back. She formed slow but firm circles with her hand, gradually releasing her energy. After a minute, she could feel Willow's demeanour returning to normal, and began reducing the amount of energy she was releasing.  
  
"Were you jealous?" Tara asked tentatively, not sure she was actually ready for the answer.  
  
"Oh no," Willow was quick to reply. She didn't want to give Tara the wrong impression. "It's not like that at all. I mean, I love Xander, just like I love Buffy, but in a platonic best friend sort of way . . ."  
  
"Oh . . ." Tara felt herself relaxing, but she was still confused. "Then why . . ." She suddenly felt embarrassed about her reaction, and didn't want to make a big deal about it. Willow would explain in her own time, and if she didn't want to . . . well that was up to her . . .  
  
"It's complicated," Willow began, deciding to answer Tara's unspoken question; she'd come this far already, she might as well tell her everything. "I used to have feelings for him . . . Xander and I have been best friends since kindergarten. We've shared everything together, and for most of that time, I had this childish crush on him. Although Xander, typical guy that he is, was totally oblivious. To him I was just one of the guys . . . "  
  
Willow took a deep breath before continuing. "Anyway, by the time we'd reached high school, I'd pretty much given up on the idea that he'd ever notice me, especially once he started dating Cordelia . . . one of the most popular girls in school . . ." She trailed off then, remembering how she'd felt when she'd seen them kissing for the first time.  
  
"You know what hurt the most," she continued. "Was the notion that he'd rather be with someone he hated, than be with me . . . Cordelia had picked on us for so long . . . and to see them kissing, well, I guess I realised I just wasn't good enough or something . . ."  
  
"Willow," Tara whispered her name sympathetically.  
  
"Oh no, it's okay," Willow responded. "It was for the best, really. 'Cause, that's about the same time I met Oz."  
  
"You got over Xander?" Tara asked.  
  
"Sort of," Willow returned. "I hate to admit it, but at first, I kinda used Oz to get back at Xander . . ." she paused for a moment, feeling ashamed of her admission. "Oz saw right through it though," she continued. "He realised I was trying to make Xander jealous, but said he'd be willing to wait until I was ready . . ."  
  
"He sounds v..very understanding," Tara had to admit.  
  
"Yeah," Willow agreed. "It's what made me really notice him."  
  
"What happened next?" Tara asked, knowing there was more to the story. She could tell Willow was building up to something.  
  
"Well," Willow continued. "We started dating, and everything was going great until half way through our senior year . . . that's when the fluke came . . .  
  
Tara wondered what Willow meant. "Fluke?" she asked.  
  
Willow explained reluctantly, still feeling shame about the incident. "Xander and I were trying on clothes for a school dance - when we kinda got swept up in the moment, and . . . we kissed." Willow hoped that her words wouldn't make Tara think less of her.  
  
"It wasn't one of my proudest moments . . ." Willow continued.  
  
Tara ran her whole hand up and down Willow's arm, wanting to let her know she wasn't judging her. "But you were affected by it?" she asked softly.  
  
Willow was comforted by Tara's reaction. "I was," she admitted. "We both were. It was like we were looking at each other in a whole new light. I'd thought I was over Xander, but kissing him confused me, brought out all these feelings I wasn't expecting. The thing is though, I cared about Oz, really cared about him, and yet I'd finally gotten my chance with Xander, and I had no idea what to do . . ."  
  
"So what happened?" Tara prompted curiously.  
  
"We tried to control ourselves," Willow continued. "Although, being young and full of hormones, we gave in to a few more indiscretions, until we finally got caught by Oz and Cordelia."  
  
"But Oz forgave you?" Tara asked. He had to have she realised, recalling that he had only recently left Willow.  
  
"Yeah," Willow replied. "He cared about me a lot. He realised Xander and I shared a history, but I told him I'd finally moved past it. I think I also managed to convince him that kissing Xander had actually helped me get over my infatuation with him."  
  
Tara didn't quite understand. "What do you mean?" she asked.  
  
Willow took a moment before answering, wanting to make sure she explained everything properly. "I guess Xander was something I never thought I'd have," she began. "He was like the forbidden fruit so to speak, and no matter how much I told myself I was over him, a part of me still wondered what it would be like, would've always wondered . . ."  
  
"You got him out of your system?" Tara asked, beginning to follow Willow's train of thought.  
  
"Exactly!" Willow exclaimed. "I know that sounds terrible, but I . . ."  
  
"I get it," Tara reassured her. "You needed closure."  
  
Willow smiled. "Yeah . . . and even though I'll always love Xander, I'm not in love with him. Part of the thrill of our indiscretions, had come from the way we were sneaking around, the idea of doing something wrong . . . In fact, when Oz and Cordelia caught us, it was actually going to be the last time we kissed anyway."  
  
"How so?" Tara asked.  
  
"Sneaking around had begun to lose its appeal," Willow explained. "And when they caught us we were kinda saying goodbye. We'd been kidnapped by Spike, who wanted me to do a love spell for him 'cause Drusilla had dumped him. Anyway, we had no idea if we'd come out of there alive, so we gave in to one last indiscretion . . ."  
  
"And that's when Oz and Cordelia walked in to rescue you?" Tara concluded.  
  
"Yeah," Willow replied. "Kinda ironic once you think about it . . . No wait, more like poetic justice . . ."  
  
Tara chuckled at that. "Yeah," she agreed.  
  
"Which brings us to Faith," Willow continued. "After the whole fluke thing, I was finally over Xander, but it still hurt to find out he'd slept with Faith. Not because I was jealous . . ." Willow paused then, taking a second to decide how to proceed. "But I felt like she was stepping on my territory; taking away my people . . . "  
  
Tara finally understood why Willow had been upset. Faith had come along and connected with her two best friends, sharing an experience with them that Willow never would. With Buffy it had been the Slayer thing, and with Xander the sex thing. Willow must've felt totally left out and . . . She stopped caressing Willow then, choosing instead to tighten her arms around her.  
  
"Willow," she whispered. "I..I understand."  
  
"You do?" Willow asked. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of Tara's embrace.  
  
"I do," Tara replied.  
  
"And now she's back . . ." Willow sighed. "I just hope she doesn't hurt anyone else."  
  
"Me too," Tara agreed. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind. She could sense that even though Willow had calmed down a lot, she was still feeling troubled, and one way to relax her . . . "Um, Willow . . ."  
  
"Yes?" Willow replied.  
  
"Do you remember that r..ritual?" Tara asked. "The one I sh..showed you after we tried the synchronicity spell."  
  
Of course she remembered. She'd wanted to do that ritual with Tara ever since. She'd been very calmed by it, not to mention extremely thrilled by the effect of joining her energy with Tara's. "How could I forget," she began. "I've never done anything so cool before. Do you wanna do it now? Is that why you're asking? 'Cause if it is, I'd love to."  
  
Tara chuckled at the excitement in Willow's voice. "Yeah," she replied.  
  
"Great," Willow replied. She extracted herself from Tara's arms, moving to lie on her back. She closed her eyes then and reached her hand for Tara's, lacing their fingers together. "Ready?" she asked.  
  
"I am," she replied, closing her own eyes.  
  
With that, both girls began their silent countdown from 10 to 1, drifting slowly into the Alpha level of consciousness. Once they'd reached it, they released their energy; merging themselves closer together than they'd been able to do the first time they'd tried this.  
  
After they'd formed their pentagrams of protection, they draped themselves with their cloaks of comfort. It was then that they relaxed, submerging themselves in the calmness of one another's energy. They stayed that way for a few hours, before they finally felt like leaving. When they'd both returned to full consciousness, they turned to face each other in bed.  
  
Willow inadvertently caught sight of Tara's alarm clock. "It's almost 4:00am," she burst out.  
  
"Really?" Tara asked, her eyes locking with Willow's.  
  
"Yeah," the girl replied. "We've been out of it for almost 3 hours."  
  
"It didn't feel that long," Tara grinned.  
  
"You're right," Willow agreed. "But I'm totally relaxed now." Willow suddenly felt a remarkable gratitude for her friend. When she'd come here tonight, she'd felt distraught and upset about Faith's awakening. She'd sought Tara's comfort, and the girl had more than risen to the occasion.  
  
"Thank you," she said with extreme meaning. "For everything . . ."  
  
Tara smiled at Willow's words, her breath catching at the intensity of the girl's gaze. She could see how delighted Willow was with her, and it gave Tara a feeling of immense contentment. She was glad that she'd managed to help Willow. "Any time," she responded.  
  
At Tara's words, Willow leaned over and kissed her cheek. When she pulled away, she quickly dragged herself out of bed. She realised that if she hurried, she could probably make it back to her dorm before Buffy noticed her absence; the Slayer sometimes got home from patrolling around this time.  
  
Tara watched in silence as Willow got up, her cheek tingling from Willow's kiss. She wondered what the girl's hurry was, and then it hit her; Buffy might still be on patrol, and Willow wanted to get home before her friend realised she was gone. The thought cut through Tara like a knife. Once again she was reminded of the fact that Willow was keeping her a secret from her friends, and it was starting to become a large point of contention with her.  
  
Willow looked down at Tara once she was standing; she needed to let her friend know why she was going. "Buffy should be home from patrolling soon," she began by way of explanation. "And she'll probably wonder where I am; I don't wanna worry her."  
  
Tara smiled. "Okay," she nodded, pleased by Willow's explanation.  
  
Willow got an idea. "Wanna have lunch tomorrow?" she asked.  
  
Tara's mood brightened. "Sure."  
  
Willow grinned at Tara's response. She recalled Tara's timetable and realised the girl had no classes after 1:00pm. "I'll meet you here around 1:30?"  
  
Tara nodded her agreement.  
  
"Bye!" Willow smiled before heading out the door.  
  
***  
  
As Buffy went off to search for Faith, Willow headed off towards Tara's dorm. It was only just after 12:00pm, and she wasn't supposed to meet her for over an hour, but she had nowhere else to go. Sure, she could have gone to her own dorm, but somehow, she always felt more relaxed at Tara's. She'd been calmed by Tara last night, but actually seeing Faith in person had completely thrown her.  
  
She could once again feel her emotions churning, becoming unstable. She needed to do something; she couldn't just sit and wait for Buffy to get her. Although, hunting for Faith alone wasn't one of her best ideas, maybe she could ask Tara to join her? The idea instantly appealed to Willow. She could make a day of it; look around for Faith, while spending some quality time with her fellow-Wicca, and besides, they'd have a better shot of finding her together.  
  
Once she'd reached Tara's room, she unconsciously began pacing. She looked at the clock: 12:22pm, Tara wouldn't be back for yet another hour. Willow was slowly beginning to lose patience; she really wanted to see Tara, to tell her about their encounter with Faith, to hug her close and let the girl comfort her. She glanced at the clock again: 12:23pm, why couldn't it move any faster? Willow sighed, knowing that the time would just keep on dragging. She needed to do something to take her mind off it . . . suddenly an idea came to her. With new conviction, she walked to her book- bag and took out some of her books; she'd get her assignments done while she waited.  
  
  
  
***  
  
An hour later, Tara walked into her room, pleased to find Willow at her desk. "Hey Willow," she greeted the girl.  
  
Willow immediately looked up at Tara's voice; she was ecstatic to see her. "Tara," she burst out, leaping out of the chair. She waited for Tara to put her books down, before rushing over to her. She put her arms around her, pulling the girl into a tight embrace. "I'm glad you're back," she whispered against Tara's ear.  
  
Tara instinctively returned the hug, feeling a little stunned by Willow's actions. "Me too," she whispered. Tara was definitely glad to be back, considering what she was coming back to - the warm affection of Willow's arms. Closing her eyes, she let herself get drawn into the embrace.  
  
After a minute, Willow slowly pulled away, releasing her hold on Tara. As she looked into her friend's eyes, she could feel a blush creeping into her cheeks. She was embarrassed over her show of affection; she'd practically bowled the girl over as she'd entered the room . . .  
  
"I'm sorry," she apologised, her eyes shyly meeting Tara's.  
  
"It's okay," Tara reassured. "I . . . it was . . . I mean I.I like . . ."  
  
Willow smiled as Tara blushed sweetly. She moved away from Tara, taking a seat on the bed. "I've been here for the past hour going insane," she joked. "Actually," she continued. "We just had a Faith encounter, and I'm itching to do something . . . I hate sitting around, especially when she's out there . . ."  
  
"You saw Faith?" Tara asked in surprise, moving to sit next to Willow. "What happened?"  
  
"Buffy and I were coming out of class," Willow began. "We bumped into her at one of the bulletin boards. She and Buffy faced off, and then the cops showed up and she ran. Buffy's out looking for her now, and I've been here ever since."  
  
Tara could sense Willow's agitation. "You wanna go look for her?" she asked.  
  
Willow nodded. "Yeah. I have to do something . . . "  
  
Tara thought about her words. If Willow wanted to look for Faith that badly, why hadn't she just left her a message, told her she couldn't make lunch, and than gone on patrol? Tara suddenly understood, and her heart warmed at the realisation. Willow didn't want to go alone; she wanted her company.  
  
Tara felt a huge smile covering her face. "You w.want me to go with you?" she asked softly.  
  
Willow grinned at Tara's perceptiveness. "Would you?" she asked the girl shyly.  
  
"Of course," Tara smiled.  
  
The girls gazed at each other, forgetting all about lunch. Neither of them were particularly hungry anyway. Wordlessly, they got off the bed and headed out the door to look for Faith. They walked in silence, scanning the area around them, and occasionally meeting each other's eyes and smiling.  
  
When they neared the student lounge, Willow looked towards her friend. "Tara . . ."  
  
"Yeah?" she replied, as they walked down the stairs.  
  
Willow wanted to let Tara know how much she appreciated her company. "Thanks for coming with, hunting for a psychopathic super bitch is definitely in the above-and-beyond category." She stopped walking as they reached the landing.  
  
"It's okay," Tara replied. "Really." She took a moment to scan the crowd. "So uh, what do we do if we find her?" she asked.  
  
Willow looked around. "Run . . . Flee . . . Maybe skedaddle." She continued walking down the rest of the steps. "We're not here to engage, this is strictly recon."  
  
They were now at the bottom of the steps, and Willow looked at Tara as she giggled. "What?" she asked.  
  
Tara smiled at her friend, finding her utterly adorable. "You said recon, " she chuckled. "You're like cool monster fighter! "  
  
Willow smiled back at Tara. "Well, technically, Faith isn't a monster," she quipped. "And as far as fighting; I'd be lucky to bruise her fist with my face . . ."  
  
Tara suddenly had an image of Willow getting punched in the face, and frowned at the thought. "Oh," she let out, knowing that she'd never be able to defend herself or Willow if the opportunity called for it.  
  
"What?" Willow asked, noticing Tara's expression.  
  
"Face punching," Tara explained. "I'm not so good with the whole . . ." She lifted her hands, deciding to demonstrate her thoughts by throwing a few punches in the air.  
  
Willow looked at Tara as she attempted her poorly constructed mime routine. The girl looked so cute, that Willow couldn't help but tease her a little. "Swimming?" she asked.  
  
Tara stopped her punching, and looked at her fists. She lowered them as she realised how silly she must look. "Violence," she explained, her eyes shifting between Willow's and the floor.  
  
Willow chuckled, letting her friend know she was teasing. On impulse, she reached out and briefly brushed a finger against Tara's hand, before heading off to walk across the lounge.  
  
"Don't worry," Willow explained. "We're sure to spot Faith first, she's like this cleavagey slutbomb, walking around going: 'Ooh, check me out, I'm wicked cool, I'm five by five' . . . " she finished off mockingly.  
  
Tara looked at her friend as she spoke, her heart skipping a beat at the way Willow said *cleavagey slutbomb*. As Willow finished her diatribe, Tara couldn't help but wonder at the meaning of the unfamiliar phrase.  
  
"Five by five?" she asked. "Five what by five what?"  
  
"See, that's the thing, no one knows," she replied. As they continued walking, Willow could sense her friend's uneasiness. "Buffy can handle Faith, and you're plenty safe with me," she reassured softly.  
  
The girls looked at each other, sharing a brief yet meaningful glance, before looking away shyly.  
  
"So, um, we . . . recon till nightfall?" Tara asked; she loved the idea of spending the whole day with Willow.  
  
Willow nodded. "Then, the ritual hiding begins." She figured it would be too dangerous to walk around afterwards, what with all the demons and stuff.  
  
"Oh," Tara replied with a frown. What if Faith found them? She abruptly recalled something; Willow still hadn't told her friends about her, so they'd be totally safe if they hid at her place. Tara told herself not to make an issue out of it; she had to stop worrying about why Willow was keeping her a secret.  
  
"Willow," she ventured, deciding to change the subject.  
  
"What's up?" Willow turned her head towards Tara.  
  
"What does Faith look like?" Tara asked.  
  
Willow smiled sheepishly. "Oh," she began. "I guess I should've told you sooner."  
  
Tara giggled. "That's okay," she replied.  
  
They had now scanned the entire student lounge, and had moved outside. Willow stopped for a moment, to inspect the open area. When she didn't spot Faith, she continued walking.  
  
"Well . . ." She began her description of the menacing Slayer. "Faith's got dark hair, brown eyes, and the last time we saw her, she was wearing dark blue jeans and a denim jacket, along with a dark shirt that's just way too tight, if you know what I mean . . ."  
  
Tara chuckled.  
  
"Anyway," Willow continued. "Like I said, she shouldn't be too hard to spot. She's not what you'd call low-profile gal."  
  
The girls smiled at each other as they walked across the campus grounds. They continued their search in silence for a while, choosing to concentrate on finding Faith.  
  
Ten minutes later, Willow was regretting the notion to skip lunch. She stopped walking and turned towards Tara. "Do you wanna head over to the Café?" she asked.  
  
Tara nodded, feeling a little hungry herself. "Okay."  
  
"Great," Willow smiled.  
  
As they neared the Café, Tara remembered something. "Maybe we should stop by my dorm first," she suggested.  
  
Willow smiled at Tara. "What for?"  
  
"Our wallets," Tara giggled, holding up her empty hands. "We sorta forgot them."  
  
"Oh," Willow chuckled. "I guess you're right."  
  
***  
  
After they'd finished lunch, the witches did another tour of the campus, all without a single sighting of Faith. Willow then brought Tara back to her own dorm, in order to check her messages. There was nothing about Faith from Buffy, and a quick phone call to Xander, told her that he hadn't heard anything either.  
  
Tara looked around Willow's dorm as her friend made another phone call. This was the first time she'd been inside Willow's room and was feeling a little excited to be there. She smiled at the 'I love chocolate' poster, before noticing the weapons bag under one of the beds. That must be Buffy's, Tara thought; which meant that the bed with all the soft toys belonged to Willow. She smiled at the idea, thinking how cute it was that Willow kept stuffed animals on her bed.  
  
Tara's attention was quickly returned to Willow as she heard the click of a phone. "Anything?" she asked hopefully.  
  
Willow shook her head. "Nope, Giles hasn't heard anything either." She moved towards her bed and sat down. "I just wish there was something more we could do?"  
  
Tara thought about it, and decided to offer up a suggestion. "How about we look for her off campus?" she asked. "Were do you think she'd go?"  
  
Willow leapt off the bed at Tara's words. "That's a great idea," she exclaimed. "Why don't we head for the mall?"  
  
"Right," Tara agreed, following Willow out the door.  
  
***  
  
The girls were now walking around the Sunnydale Mall. They mostly walked in silence, doing their best to try and catch sight of Faith. As they walked past a couple of clothes stores, Willow spied this gorgeous looking purple top, and just had to try it on.  
  
She stopped walking and turned to face Tara. "Hey," she began. "Lets go in here." She motioned towards the shop.  
  
Tara smiled. "Okay."  
  
Smiling back, Willow impulsively grabbed Tara's hand, and led them into the shop. She quickly let go of her hand though, once she had reached the rack where the purple top was. Using both hands, she quickly found one in her size.  
  
Tara watched in silence as Willow searched for the top. She thought Willow looked very cute when she was excited.  
  
"I'm gonna try it on . . ." Willow explained, as she headed off towards the dressing rooms.  
  
Tara followed Willow to the dressing room and stood outside the door as she waited for Willow to change.  
  
"So, what do you think?" Willow asked a moment later. She was eager to know if Tara liked her top.  
  
"It's nice," she replied, thinking Willow actually looked very sexy.  
  
Smiling at the sincerity in her friend's voice, Willow decided she would buy it. "Great," she replied.  
  
After Willow had changed back into her own shirt, she took out her wallet and paid for the item. She then smiled at Tara as they walked out of the shop and returned to their Faith hunt.  
  
The girls spent the next few hours doing the same thing. They walked around the mall, keeping one eye out for Faith, and another one out for a good bargain. Actually, they managed to spend more time looking at clothes and stuff than actually looking for Faith. They were having a good time though. They loved being in each other's company, and were often surprised by how similar their tastes were, as their eye would catch on the same article of clothing, or a particularly enchanting crystal, or even an interesting book.  
  
***  
  
As nighttime fell, the girls eventually left the Mall and headed back towards campus. They stopped by the Café for some dinner, before heading back to Tara's dorm. They still hadn't seen Faith anywhere, and Willow was beginning to get really worried. Faith was not one to keep her presence hidden for long, which made Willow wonder what the brunette Slayer was planning.  
  
As soon as they reached Tara's dorm, Willow rushed to the girl's phone to check in with Xander and Giles. Neither of them were at home though, and Xander's mom had told her that he'd left with Mr Giles an hour ago. Willow decided she'd check in with Giles a little later.  
  
The girls then stepped out for a shower, feeling as if they needed something to refresh them after their day out. Willow was the last one to get out of the shower, and as she opened the door to Tara's room, she smiled at her friend, who was sitting on the bed with a deck of tarot cards.  
  
"Hey," Willow called out, letting the girl know she was back.  
  
"Hey Willow," Tara smiled. She noticed that Willow was wearing the purple top she'd just brought. She wanted to let Willow know how sexy she looked in it, but kept her mouth closed.  
  
Willow placed her towel and dirty clothes in the hamper, before moving to lie down on the bed. She stared at the ceiling for a moment, as she thought about Faith  
  
"I wonder where she is?" She just couldn't stop thinking about why Faith hadn't made a move. She should've done something by now.  
  
"Who . . . Faith?" Tara asked.  
  
"Yeah," Willow replied. "I wish she would make a move. She's making my stomach all acidy."  
  
"But you think Buffy can handle her?" Tara was reminded of their earlier conversation.  
  
Willow sat up, before crossing her legs and turning to face Tara. "I think so," she replied. Well, hoped so anyway. "But that doesn't mean Faith won't hurt someone else . . ."  
  
Tara thought about it for a moment. "Well," she began. "You should be safe." Her earlier thoughts came back to her. "Nobody knows you're here," she continued. "I mean . . ." Tara could no longer contain herself. She needed to call Willow on why she hadn't told her friends about her. The thought had been plaguing her for some time now, and like all things that you keep bottled up, they tend to get loose when you least expect them. "They don't even know I exist, right? I know all about them, but . . ."  
  
Willow sensed the undertone in Tara's words. "Hey," she whispered, placing her hand on Tara's knee. She squeezed it gently before pulling away. Willow realised how insensitive she'd been, how she must've made Tara feel. Tara was right of course; she had kept her a secret, but not because she was ashamed of her or anything.  
  
Tara suddenly regretted her outburst. She didn't want to make a big deal out of it . . . she'd just been letting her thoughts fester for so long, and she hadn't meant to sound like she was offended or angry with Willow.  
  
"I mean," she began. "I mean . . . Th.that's totally cool . . . I mean . . . it.it's good. It's . . . it's better." She wanted to let Willow know it was okay, that she understood . . . even if she didn't.  
  
Willow's heart went out to Tara. She could clearly see past her friend's bravado. She'd really managed to hurt the girl. She looked deep into Tara's eyes, before explaining.  
  
"Tara, it's not like I don't want my friends to know you," she began. "It's just . . ." she trailed off as she thought of how best to explain things.  
  
Willow wanted Tara to know how much she meant to her, how important she was to her, but that she wasn't quite ready to share her with any of the Scoobies. "Well, Buffy's like my best friend, and she's really special. And . . . there's this whole bunch of us, and.and we sort of have this group thing that revolves around the slaying, and.and, I.I really want you to meet them."  
  
She paused then, taking a second to think about how to say what she really meant. She'd just been babbling, skirting around the real issue - that she felt protective of her relationship with Tara and wasn't quite ready to share her with anyone. She took a deep cleansing breath, before finishing her explanation. "But, I.I just kinda, like having something that's just . . . you know . . . mine."  
  
Tara's heart stopped as Willow's words sank in. The girl wanted her? Willow felt possessive about her? She couldn't believe Willow had actually said that.  
  
"And I.I usually don't use so many words to say stuff that little . . ." Willow trailed off - embarrassed. She hadn't meant the words to come out so possessive. "But," she chuckled nervously. "Do you get it at all?" she asked, hoping she hadn't made a complete fool out of herself.  
  
Tara took a deep breath before replying. She could see how embarrassed Willow was, and her heart melted. The girl had put herself on the line by revealing some of her most intimate thoughts, and Tara could almost feel a tear coming to her eye.  
  
"I do," she said with meaning.  
  
Willow's eyes were locked intently with Tara's. At the girl's words, she could feel herself turning crimson. She was still a little embarrassed about what she'd just revealed, and feeling a little vulnerable. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to look away. She searched for an excuse to get up so that she could compose herself.  
  
"I should check in with Giles," she began. "Get a situation update." With those words, she got off the bed, and headed towards the phone  
  
Tara had noticed how vulnerable Willow looked. She felt like Willow had made a move towards something - alluded to the idea that she wanted to be more than just friends. Suddenly, Tara needed to let Willow know that she wasn't the only one with such feelings. Willow wanted something that was hers - well, Tara had long since realised that she belonged to Willow. She loved the girl so much . . .  
  
"I am you know," Tara began slowly. Her heart was pounding now as she realised she'd actually managed to get the words out. She was putting herself on the line here - letting Willow know exactly how she felt, she'd never felt more nervous in her entire life.  
  
Willow turned around. What did Tara mean by that? "What?" she asked.  
  
Bracing herself, Tara turned around and looked at Willow over her shoulder. "Yours," she whispered meaningfully.  
  
Willow was floored by Tara's revelation, but as her words sank in, Willow could feel her mouth curling up into a grin. She smiled warmly at her friend, suddenly feeling as if she was on fire. Tara was hers! Tara was her girl. This was the signal Willow had been waiting for. Suddenly feeling very possessive, she forgot all about her reason for calling Giles, and slowly headed back towards the bed. She needed to claim what was hers; she needed to claim Tara!  
  
Tara knew exactly what Willow was up to. As the girl walked towards her, she could see the look in her eye, the warmth . . . the emotion . . . and it could only mean one thing . . . Willow was going to kiss her. Tara was frozen to the spot, unable to move, as her eyes remained locked with Willow's. When Willow finally took a seat, all coherent thoughts suddenly left Tara's mind.  
  
Willow was now sitting on the bed; knee slightly bent; unwittingly scattering the tarot cards, while she gazed into Tara's eyes. She could feel her heart pounding as she brought her hands to Tara's face. She rested her fingers against the girl's neck, as her thumbs caressed Tara's cheekbones. There was no thought in her mind now, except for the intense need to possess Tara. Slowly, she gave in to her desire, and brought the girl's face towards hers; closing her eyes as she finally captured Tara's lips with her own.  
  
The very second Willow's lips touched hers, Tara's world exploded. She closed her eyes, and let the sensation overpower her. The girl's lips were so soft and electric, and the feeling was so incredibly sexy, she was unable to move. All she could do was sit there, frozen to the core, as Willow's lips pressed themselves firmly against hers. This was the moment she'd been dreaming of, and now that it was here, she almost couldn't believe it was really happening. The feel of Willow's lips on hers was unlike anything she'd ever imagined; all her dreams and fantasies paled in comparison to the real thing.  
  
After a moment, the simple contact was just too reserved for Willow; she needed more. Instinctively, she began moving her lips, opening them slightly as they brushed against Tara's. She moved her lips slowly, enjoying the spark of electricity that was now coursing through her body. After a minute, she developed a rhythm of opening and closing her lips against Tara's, rapidly losing her battle with self-control.  
  
Tara was moving her lips as well, letting her instincts guide her as she followed Willow's lead. It was that same instinct that caused her to jut out her bottom lip, urging Willow to take it. The girl didn't disappoint; Willow moaned against Tara's mouth as she took the proffered lip. She sucked it into her mouth, slowly running her tongue over it, causing Tara to melt as her arms wrapped themselves around Willow's back for support.  
  
Tara had the most luscious bottom lip, Willow thought. As she sucked on it and ran her tongue against it, all she could think about was how good it felt; how soft Tara was, and how sweet she tasted . . . very minty and a little like strawberry lip balm. Willow couldn't believe this was actually happening; kissing Tara was the most incredibly arousing experience of her young life. She'd never thought kissing someone could be this intoxicating. The simple feel of the girl's lip against her tongue caused her whole body to tremble . . . her legs had already gone numb, her breathing was coming in gasps, and the wetness between her thighs was quickly threatening to trickle down her legs.  
  
Willow was moving her hands now, letting them drift from Tara's face, to run through her hair. As she continued to suckle at Tara's bottom lip, the desire coursing through her body continued to mount. Of their own accord, her hands descended towards Tara's shoulders, working their way underneath, so that they were now slowly but firmly rubbing against Tara's back. She was caressing the girl, enjoying every moment of their first kiss.  
  
Tara's hands were now mimicking Willow's; working their way up and down Willow's back, touching her urgently, yet doing her best to control her desire. She was still a little afraid to completely give herself over to the sensations, afraid of the passion inside her. She'd never felt anything like this before, and the feelings were a little overwhelming.  
  
As Willow's tongue continued to tease her lip, Tara could feel her restraint fading away. She was shivering now; shaking with emotion and desire, as Willow finally let go of her lip, only to press her slightly open mouth firmly against Tara's.  
  
Willow slowly covered the girl's mouth with her own, the need to deepen their kiss guiding her actions. She ran her tongue over Tara's lips, silently begging for entrance; pleased when the girl instantly complied. Willow pulled away slightly, giving Tara enough room to open her mouth, so that their lips were once again pressed firmly against each other, only this time their mouths were wide open. Without another thought, Willow urgently thrust her tongue into Tara's mouth, moaning loudly as the girl instinctively met it with her own.  
  
At the sound of Willow's moan, Tara felt her own desire increase tenfold. She couldn't help but let out a moan of her own, as Willow began circling her tongue around, bringing with it this incredible spark of energy. She copied Willow's movements, circling her own tongue around Willow's, so that their tongues were now rolling against each other. Her hands meanwhile, were still running themselves along Willow's back, only now the movement was harder, more urgent. Willow was also doing the same thing, causing both their bodies to arch in desire.  
  
As their breasts pressed together, both girls moaned loudly at the contact. Willow felt Tara's tongue suddenly stop it's movement, and decided to take advantage of the fact, to run her own tongue over the inside of Tara's mouth; she wanted to explore every last crevice.  
  
She brought her tongue up to the roof of Tara's mouth, taking her time to enjoy the sensation, before moving down to caress the fleshy area of her cheeks. She then moved her tongue downwards, bringing it underneath Tara's, licking it softly as she opened her mouth wider. She was inviting Tara in; tentatively guiding the girl's tongue into her own mouth.  
  
Tara hesitated at first, her shyness getting the better of her. However, as Willow continued to taunt the underside of her tongue, all rational thought left her completely, to be replaced with the red-hot urgency of desire. Timidly, she allowed Willow to guide her tongue into her mouth, extending it gradually as her need took over. The instant her tongue was completely inside, Willow surprised her by tightly closing her mouth over it, holding it in place as she sucked on it greedily. Tara moaned loudly into Willow's mouth, overwhelmed by the stimulation.  
  
Willow couldn't believe how aroused she was; Tara's body was so soft and warm against hers, and the girl's tongue inside her mouth was setting off a sexual spark so intense, that her whole body was quivering with need. This kiss was like nothing she'd ever shared with anyone.  
  
She'd only ever really kissed two guys in her life, but kissing Tara was more intense than kissing Xander or Oz had ever been; not because it was her first time kissing a girl, but because it was her first time kissing Tara . . . the girl she was rapidly falling in love with. Her feelings for Tara were so different from her feelings for Oz or Xander, it was like she shared this powerful connection with Tara, that stemmed not only from their continued use of the magicks, but also from some deep spiritual bond that had been apparent from the moment they'd first met.  
  
As Willow continued to hold her tongue hostage, Tara could feel herself drifting deeper and deeper into the spiralling sensation of arousal. She still couldn't believe this was really happening; that she was actually kissing Willow . . . being kissed by Willow. This was the most exhilarating experience of her life, and she just hoped that when it was all over, she wouldn't wake up and realise it had all been a dream.  
  
She decided to stop thinking about it, especially since her brain was suddenly finding it very difficult to focus on anything but the impression of Willow's lips against hers, the feel of her tongue inside the girl's mouth, and the intense spark of electricity emitted by the movement of Willow's hands against her back.  
  
Her breathing was now even heavier than before, and her own hands were moving a lot harder and faster along Willow's back. She was at the complete mercy of her desires, her longing for Willow consuming her. Tara was now softly moaning in between breaths, unable to control herself. Unconsciously, she arched her body against Willow's, rubbing their breasts together, as the throbbing sensation between her legs begged for release.  
  
At Tara's movements, Willow gasped, her own back arching in response. Her need for Tara was quickly escalating, and she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to restrain herself. Right now, it was all she could do to keep her hands from reaching down and working their way inside Tara's shirt. Instead, she moaned softly against Tara's lips, slowly opening her mouth as she finally released her hold on the girl's tongue.  
  
As soon as her tongue was free, Tara couldn't help but move it around the inside of Willow's mouth. She'd been too shy at first to even venture this far, but at Willow's gentle guidance, she'd felt her shyness quickly dissipate. Her exploration was cut short however, as Willow's tongue decided it was lonely, and reached up to tangle with hers. Once again, their tongues were rolling against each other, only this time the duel was happening inside Willow's mouth.  
  
Willow continued playing with Tara's tongue, the sensation making her feel dizzy. The passion between them was quickly becoming unrestrainable, and she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to remain upright. Her hands were now moving back up towards Tara's hair, entangling themselves in the girl's silky blonde locks. She was moaning now, her tongue duelling fervently with Tara's, her body aching with desire.  
  
She couldn't take it any longer; her nipples were hard against Tara's, her body was shuddering with need, and the throbbing between her legs just wouldn't let up. She needed to end this, Willow realised. She needed to pull away before she pushed them both down onto the bed and started grinding their bodies together, in an attempt to ease the urgency of her desire.  
  
Slowly, she untangled her hands from Tara's hair, bringing them around to once again cup her face. Her tongue was still swirling around Tara's, as she began caressing the girl's cheekbones. Willow wanted to use her hands to pull Tara's face away, but her body wasn't quite responding to her brain . . . not that her brain was actually thinking straight mind you. The feel of the girl's tongue against her own, was just too intoxicating, and Tara's face was just so soft . . . Unwittingly, she let out a soft moan as her desire continued to mount.  
  
Tara moaned as well, her own desire rising as Willow began pushing harder at her tongue. The girl was forcefully guiding their tongues out of her mouth, transferring the duel into Tara's mouth. Realising the girl's plan, Tara was quick to comply. She pulled back her tongue, parting her lips further, granting Willow easy access. As soon as Willow's tongue was inside, Tara decided to return the girl's earlier favour, and closed her lips around it. She sucked hungrily, never knowing anything could taste this good.  
  
Willow moaned loudly as Tara held her tongue captive. She couldn't even breathe properly anymore, her breath coming in gasps as her brain periodically remembered she needed oxygen to survive. After a minute, Tara finally relaxed her hold, and Willow took that moment to slowly pull their lips apart.  
  
Willow's lips were only half an inch away from Tara's, before she was unwittingly drawn back down again; she missed the contact too much. Hungrily, Willow re-captured Tara's lips, kissing her softly, before pulling away . . . only to lean back down for yet another taste. She captured Tara's bottom lip with her own, gently sucking on it for a few seconds before letting go. As she released the girl's lip, she stuck out her own, brushing it against Tara's top lip.  
  
Tara was quick to capture Willow's bottom lip, mimicking the girl's previous actions. She held onto it for a few seconds before letting go, only to capture it again. A moment later, she was offering her own lip to Willow; sighing softly as the girl swiftly reclaimed it. Tara's hands had finally stopped their movement along Willow's back, and were now just gripping tightly, bringing their bodies closer together, and in turn crushing their breasts forcefully.  
  
Both girls moaned at the contact, slowly pulling their lips apart. Half a second later, they were kissing again, brushing their lips together. They'd formed a pattern now, briefly capturing one another's bottom lip, and then releasing it. They took turns at this; enjoying the sparks that enveloped them each time they reclaimed contact.  
  
After a few minutes, Willow decided she would soon be unable to contain her lustful cravings, and slowly pulled away; her eyes half closed, her breathing heavy, and her body beaded with sweat. She kept her hands on Tara's face, as she gradually met the girl's eyes. She noticed Tara was just as aroused as she was; the girl's pupils were dilated, her breathing was erratic, and her skin was glowing with a fine sheen of sweat.  
  
As Willow gazed into her eyes, Tara was unable to move, her hands still gripping the girl's back tightly. She was doing her best to steady her breathing, but since Willow's face was only an inch away, she was finding it very difficult. She could feel Willow's breath against her lips, and as the girl continued to caress her cheeks, Tara found it harder and harder to think straight. The only thought in her mind right now; was that she needed to feel the girl's lips again; to reclaim them with her own. Unable to resist her desire, Tara closed her eyes and unwittingly let her face fall, so that her lips were now pressed firmly against Willow's.  
  
Tara was surprised by her own boldness, but now that her lips were once again in contact with Willow's, she just couldn't stop herself from thoroughly enjoying the kiss. She softly rubbed their lips together, pressing her bottom lip against Willow's, taking the girl's top lip into her mouth for a second, before releasing it so that she could claim her bottom one instead. After a second she released the girl's lip, so as to firmly press her slightly open mouth against Willow's.  
  
Their lips were crushed tightly together now, top lip against top lip, and bottom lip against bottom lip. Willow could feel her heart racing, as she gave herself over to the sensation. She'd been a little stunned when Tara had re-initiated their kiss, but was thrilled she had; feeling more than a little keyed up to be the reason behind Tara's sudden daring. As Tara began moving her lips against hers, Willow couldn't help but moan at the sensation. She began moving her own lips, rhythmically opening and closing them against Tara's.  
  
A minute later, Tara's whole body was shaking uncontrollably, the stimulation of their kiss was quickly becoming too much for her to handle. She forced herself to pull away, suddenly terrified of her own responses. She slowly dragged her lips from Willow's, moving her head back so she could look into the girl's eyes. Her hands were still gripping Willow's back tightly, as she did her best to compose herself; the task being made more difficult, partly due to the sensation of Willow's thumbs moving against her cheekbones, and partly due to the lingering energy of their kiss.  
  
After a moment, the two girls finally began to calm down a little. Willow's thumbs had stopped moving, but she was still cupping Tara's face; the need to keep some form of contact with her friend was just too great. As she continued looking into Tara's eyes, she couldn't believe how intense their first kiss had been. Tara was still gripping her tightly, and the feel of the girl's hands against her back, was making it very difficult for her to stay focused.  
  
As her breathing slowly returned to normal, Willow could feel a shy smile creeping into her lips. "Wow!" she managed to breath out.  
  
Tara smiled shyly. She opened her mouth to respond, but words were still escaping her. Instead, she nodded her head as her smile widened, silently letting Willow know she agreed with her. The experience had been unlike anything she'd ever known, and as she continued to gaze at Willow, she hoped there would be more like it  
  
"Wow!" Willow exclaimed again; not knowing what else to say. She moved her hands downwards, letting them rest on the girl's shoulders. Willow was doing her best to recover from their kiss, and was afraid that by keeping her hands against Tara's face, she'd let herself succumb to yet another merging of their lips.  
  
The girls sat there for about a minute, just staring at each other, smiling shyly as they composed themselves. Neither of them knew what to say after their intense make-out session; they'd both hoped their first kiss would be spectacular, but they hadn't expected it to be quite so mind-blowing. Their shy smiles were now quickly turning into soft giggles, as the nervousness of their situation finally became too much for them.  
  
After a while, reality slowly began to return, and Willow suddenly remembered why they were hiding out in the first place. "I should um . . . call Giles," she slowly breathed out.  
  
Tara nodded, her giggles fading. "Okay," she whispered.  
  
Keeping her eyes locked with Willow's, Tara smiled as she reluctantly released her hold; slowly removing her hands from the girl's back.  
  
Still gazing at Tara, Willow lifted a hand up to the blonde's cheek, softly caressing her. She'd only meant to caress her briefly before getting up, but a sudden impulse hit her, and she leaned in and pressed her lips against Tara's instead, kissing her soundly. She let the kiss last for only a few seconds, before pulling away. Willow had no idea why she'd done that; she only knew that she found it extremely difficult to stop kissing her friend now that she knew how good it felt.  
  
"I'm, uh . . . Getting up now . . . " Willow ventured huskily. Her face was completely flushed, as she removed her hand from Tara's face.  
  
Tara simply nodded, still stunned by Willow's quick kiss. She hadn't expected the girl to bring their lips together again, but had immediately succumbed to the sensation. Her heart was racing now, as she took in the inference behind Willow's actions; the girl liked kissing her . . . she was finding it difficult to stop kissing her . . . Lately, Tara had thought she'd had some of the happiest moments in her life, but none of them compared to this one; basking in the aftermath of her first kiss with Willow (the girl she loved), where it was obvious she wasn't the only one who'd been moved.  
  
Willow hauled herself off the bed; still gazing into Tara's eyes, drawn to her by some inexplicable force. As soon as she was standing however, she felt her legs wobble as they tried to support her weight; apparently, she still hadn't completely recovered from the sensation of Tara's lips against hers. Doing her best to concentrate, Willow forced herself to focus as she dragged her eyes away from Tara's, slowly making her way towards the phone. The moment she reached the table, she leaned herself against it for support, before picking up the phone.  
  
Turning around on the bed, Tara watched Willow as she dialled Giles' number, her heart thumping erratically. The implication of what'd just happened between them was finally beginning to sink in; they'd shared a kiss . . . and not just one kiss; a mind-blowing, beyond-belief, undreamed- of, shamelessly-brazen . . . stream of kisses. Her own actions had surprised her; the way she'd immersed herself in the sensations, boldly explored Willow's mouth with her tongue; kissed the girl with such blatant passion . . . in fact, Tara had never kissed anyone with as much fervour as she'd bestowed upon Willow, and it made her blush just thinking about it.  
  
As she continued gazing at Willow, Tara began to wonder where they went from here. Now that they'd experienced their first kiss, what did it mean for their relationship. . ? What did Willow feel for her. . ? She knew the girl cared about her; that their relationship meant a lot to her, but how deep did Willow's feelings actually extend. . ? She was suddenly feeling very perplexed about the status of their relationship.  
  
While she waited for Giles to answer, Willow felt herself inadvertently seeking out Tara's gaze. She just couldn't keep herself from maintaining some form of contact with the girl. As her eyes met Tara's, Willow instantly sensed the girl's poorly veiled anxiety. She immediately realised where her friend's angst was coming from, and in all honesty, Willow was also worried about the same thing. Their ardent kisses had moved their relationship into uncharted territory, and while she knew her feelings for the blonde ran very deep-falling in love deep, she couldn't help but wonder what Tara felt for her, and it was only natural for Tara to be wondering the same thing . . .  
  
They needed to talk, Willow realised . . . to finally discuss the nature and type of their relationship. As she continued to gaze into Tara's eyes, Willow suddenly felt this overwhelming desire to take the girl into her arms, and let her know she had nothing to be worried about; that she was cared for-deeply. Willow opened her mouth to speak, intending to say something that would ease the girl's concern. However, Giles took that moment to answer the phone, and Willow was forced to turn her attention away from her potential girlfriend, and towards the edgy ex-watcher instead.  
  
"Hello," Giles' voice bellowed down the phone.  
  
"Hey Giles," Willow replied. She quickly dragged her eyes away from Tara's, knowing it was the only way she'd be able to concentrate on the conversation.  
  
"Willow . . . it's you," Giles returned. "Thank goodness. I've been trying to reach you at your dorm for about an hour now."  
  
Willow suddenly felt a little guilty, feeling as if she'd shirked her Scooby duties by not checking in sooner . . . but making out with Tara had been sooooo worth it. Smiling at the thought, Willow quickly apologised.  
  
"Sorry," she began. "I was um . . . with a friend . . ."  
  
"That's fine Willow," Giles interrupted. "I've called a meeting though, there's something I need to discuss with all of you."  
  
Willow's interest was suddenly peaked. "Is it about Faith?" she asked eagerly. "Has Buffy found her . . . no wait . . . has she hurt someone . . . is Buffy all right . . . what about Xander . . . she hasn't hurt them has she. . ? Giles . . . please . . . tell me what's happened . . ."  
  
"It's okay Willow," he interrupted. "I assure you, both Buffy and Xander are all right."  
  
"Really?" Willow asked, still not entirely convinced. "You sure?"  
  
"Yes," he reassured.  
  
Willow could sense the calming tone in his voice, and felt herself relaxing. "If everything's okay, then what do you wanna to talk about?" she asked.  
  
"I'll tell you when we're all gathered," Giles replied. "It's a topic I'd rather not discuss over the phone."  
  
"Okay," Willow conceded. "I'll be there soon."  
  
With those words, she hung up the phone, doing her best not to look at Tara. She desperately wanted to stay here and discuss their relationship, but Scooby duties beckoned, and she knew that if she let herself get drawn up in Tara's sea-blue eyes, she'd soon find it impossible to leave the room.  
  
Tara watched in silence as Willow located her shoes, before quickly lacing them up. She couldn't help but notice how the girl's eyes were avoiding her. She wondered why that was; did Willow suddenly regret what'd happened between them . . . was she changing her mind . . . did Willow feel uncomfortable because she didn't know how to tell her that she just wanted to be friends. . ?  
  
Tara's heart was pounding with fear now, and she was unable to control the solitary tear that had somehow slid down her cheek. Closing her eyes, she forced herself to relax, telling herself that she was over-reacting, that she was probably reading too much into Willow's actions. The girl was just concerned about her friends, and her mind was most likely too preoccupied . . . that's why she wasn't looking at her . . .  
  
Once she'd finished putting on her shoes, Willow finally allowed herself to look at Tara. As her eyes fell on her friend however, Willow's heart lurched with emotion. Tara's eyes were closed, and she could sense the turmoil in the girl's demeanour . . . and if she wasn't mistaken, her left cheek seemed to be stained with the trace of a tear . . .  
  
Willow suddenly felt very guilty, as she realised her own actions had probably caused the girl's turbulent emotional state. By not looking at Tara, she'd probably given her the impression that she was uncomfortable, that she was regretting their kisses or something . . . Willow cursed herself for her insensitive actions. Their relationship was on tentative new ground; of course Tara would think the worst while she'd avoided her gaze . . . How could she've been so stupid. . ?  
  
Willow quickly moved to sit on the bed, placing her hands on Tara's shoulders. "Hey," she said softly.  
  
Tara opened her eyes, tentatively meeting Willow's gaze. She was doing her best to remain composed, and was surprised to suddenly find Willow sitting so close to her. As she looked at Willow, she was quickly comforted by the deep affection she saw in the girl's eyes. She'd been all angst-ridden for nothing; why was she constantly jumping to the wrong conclusions. . ?  
  
Tara smiled shyly. "Hey."  
  
Willow was pleased to see her relax. "I've gotta go," she explained, impulsively lifting her hand to Tara's cheek. She simply stared at the girl for a moment, before softly tracing the track of Tara's dried up tear with her fingertips.  
  
Tara closed her eyes, giving herself over to the moment. She had no idea what was going on in Willow's mind, but the girl's touch comforted her, made her feel as if everything was okay.  
  
As her fingers finished their trail, Willow couldn't help but lean over and place her lips against Tara's cheek. She kissed the girl softly, resting her mouth against the spot where her tear had first dropped. After a moment, she pulled her lips downwards; beginning a trail of kisses; following the line her tear had taken. When she reached the girl's jaw, Willow was unable to resist the urge to once again taste the sweetness of Tara's lips.  
  
Tara had been taken aback when she'd felt Willow's lips against her skin. Willow's kisses had left with them a trail of red-hot sparks, which she could still feel burning against her skin. Her breathing was coming in gasps now, and when Willow suddenly captured her lips, Tara felt as if she would faint from the stimulation; she was suffering, in every respect, from an overload of Willow kissage; an affliction she was only too happy to endure mind you . . .  
  
Willow pressed her lips forcefully against Tara's, doing her best to ease the blonde's anxiety. For a girl who was constantly being accused of babbling, Willow surprisingly found it much easier to show Tara how she felt, rather than tell her. She was moving her lips now, not content to simply let them rest against Tara's.  
  
She guided Tara's mouth open with her own, parting her lips slightly. She inserted her tongue for a moment, briefly exploring the girl's mouth before withdrawing; she didn't want to absorb herself too deeply in the sensations. Their mouths were half open now, as their lips began brushing together, opening and closing rhythmically. Before the kiss could escalate any further however, Willow forced herself to pull back; Giles and the gang were waiting for her, and she felt guilty enough as it was.  
  
Tara slowly opened her eyes as Willow pulled away, her breathing coming in ragged gasps. As she looked into Willow's eyes, she became pleased to notice that she wasn't the only one who'd been affected by their kiss; Willow's breathing was erratic, and her pupils were dilated, clearly showing Tara the extent of the girl's excitement. Tara suddenly realised the purpose behind Willow's actions, and could feel her heart melting at the thought; Willow had somehow noticed her anxiety, and had decided to let her know that she had nothing to worry about.  
  
Tara couldn't believe how insightful Willow was, and how thoughtful. It was as if the girl could see right through her, and because she was such a warm-hearted person, she couldn't help but set her mind at ease. Tara had no idea what she'd done to deserve Willow, but was sure glad she was a part of her life.  
  
Willow smiled softly at Tara, moving her hands away from the girl's shoulders. "The gang's waiting," she explained as she stood up.  
  
Tara smiled back, nodding. "I know." With those words, she moved off the bed.  
  
Once they'd both reached the door, the two girls turned to face each other. Smiling shyly, they simultaneously reached their hands for one another, wordlessly moving into an embrace. Tara wrapped her arms around Willow's shoulders, while Willow snaked hers around Tara's waist. They held each other tightly, pressing their bodies vehemently together as their heads fell down to rest against the other's shoulder.  
  
Willow half-closed her eyes, immersing herself in the embrace. As she turned her head slightly, she noticed her lips were almost pressed up against Tara's neck. "I'll call you when it's over," Willow began, her breath teasing Tara's skin. "Let you know what happened . . . "  
  
"Okay," Tara said softly. Her heart was beating erratically as she took in the sensation of Willow's breath against her neck.  
  
"Or . . ." Willow continued, her mind hazily forming new thoughts. "I could come back . . . "  
  
Unwittingly, Tara tightened her hold on Willow. She was quickly beginning to lose control of her thought processes, and barely managed to breathe out her agreement. "Back is good . . ."  
  
"Yeah," Willow sighed. "Good . . ." Unable to resist the urge any longer, Willow softly pressed her lips against Tara's neck, the closeness of the girl's skin was just too enticing.  
  
"Mmmm," Tara mumbled, wholeheartedly enjoying the spark of arousal induced by Willow's lips.  
  
After a moment, Willow slowly pulled her lips away. "I'll come back," she repeated, her mind barely able to form the words.  
  
Tara's body was now quivering with sensation. "Back," she agreed softly, finding it difficult to speak.  
  
"So I should . . . go now . . . " Willow sighed. Being in Tara's arms was totally messing with her brain, and she could feel herself quickly forgetting why she had to go in the first place.  
  
"Go . . ." Tara whispered, mimicking Willow's words. She was too far gone now to actually think straight.  
  
"Yeah," Willow continued, pressing another kiss against Tara's neck. A moment later, she broke the kiss, her mind suddenly forming a reason for her not to move. "But . . ." she trailed off.  
  
"What. . ?" Tara asked softly. Her skin was buzzing from the lingering effect of Willow's lips, and her legs felt like they were just about to give way beneath her.  
  
"This is . . ." she wrapped her arms tighter around Tara. "Nice . . ."  
  
"Mmmm," Tara agreed.  
  
"Very nice," Willow continued. "You feel so . . . " She nuzzled her lips against Tara's neck. "Mmmm . . ."  
  
Tara responded with a moan of her own, as her legs started to wobble, forcing her to tighten her hold on Willow's shoulders for support. "Willow . . ." she trailed off.  
  
"I know," Willow whispered. She could sense the feeling in Tara's voice and impulsively lifted her head to press her lips against Tara's cheek. She pulled away after a second however, in order to kiss Tara's lips instead.  
  
Willow crushed their lips together, putting all her emotion into the kiss. Unwittingly, she pressed her body harder against Tara's, as her lips began their gentle rhythm, opening and closing passionately. Her hands were now gripping Tara's waist even tighter, while their lips continued brushing against one another. A minute later, Willow forced herself to release Tara's lips; she had a Scooby meeting to get to . . .  
  
The girls sighed softly as their kiss ended, their bodies trembling with need. They were still gripping each other tightly, as they bent their heads, resting their foreheads together. Silently, they took a moment to compose themselves, holding onto one another as their breathing slowly returned to normal.  
  
Willow was the first to speak, motivated by her sense of duty. "I'll see you soon," she whispered, her breath mingling with Tara's.  
  
"Okay," Tara whispered back, her forehead still resting against Willow's.  
  
Willow released her hands from around Tara's waist, bringing them up to cup the girl's face. She pulled away slightly as she gazed into Tara's eyes. The girl was looking at her with such tender adoration; Willow couldn't resist bringing Tara's lips to hers for yet another kiss.  
  
She pressed their lips tightly together for only a few seconds before pulling away. She then quickly let go of Tara as she moved to open the door, knowing that if she didn't leave now, she'd once again be drawn into a passionate make-out session.  
  
"Bye," Willow called out huskily, smiling warmly at Tara as she exited the room.  
  
As soon as Willow left, Tara quickly moved to the bed and collapsed onto her back. She couldn't believe what'd just happened; the girl she loved had kissed her, held her close, and in actual fact made out with her. Tara had never expected that would happen to her, and she just couldn't contain her elation.  
  
As she closed her eyes, she remembered the sensation of kissing Willow. After a minute, Tara suddenly felt her body tingling. There was energy coursing all around her and she felt almost weightless. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to notice how close the ceiling was. She then looked downwards; finally realising what was happening. Kissing Willow had left her feeling so giddy and content, that she was dong something she'd never done before - floating.  
  
Tara closed her eyes again, deciding to take full advantage of her position. Floating in mid-air was one of the most calming sensations she'd ever experienced. However, what made it even better, was the knowledge that she was experiencing it because of Willow . . . Willow-kissage to be exact. Tara remained in the air for over an hour, until the ringing of her phone finally forced her to come down.  
  
***  
  
Willow was overjoyed by the news of Faith's capture, and she couldn't wait to let Tara know. She'd run all the way to her dorm in order to call her.  
  
"Hello," Tara answered the phone.  
  
Willow beamed at the sound of Tara's voice. "Hey Tara," she burst out excitedly. "Guess what?"  
  
"What?" Tara returned.  
  
"They got Faith!" Willow exclaimed.  
  
"Really?" Tara was genuinely pleased by the news. "What happened?"  
  
"That's what the meeting was about," Willow explained. "Giles wanted to let us know that these Watcher guys were out hunting for Faith. It was great timing really. Faith showed up at Buffy's, held her mom hostage, but Buffy arrived just in time to kick her ass. Anyway, the cops came and took her away, and when Buffy arrived at the meeting, Giles told us about the Watcher guys and explained that they'd probably taken her from the cops by now. The thing with these Watcher guys is that their like underground Watchers, they do all the dirty work; wetworks and stuff, that's murder by the way, I just found that out. So it looks like Faith won't be seeing any daylight for a while. . ."  
  
"That's great," Tara responded.  
  
"Yep," Willow continued excitedly. "It calls for a celebration, don't you think?" she asked.  
  
"Sure," Tara replied, wondering what Willow had in mind.  
  
"What do you say to a night out? You, me, the Bronze?" she ventured nervously.  
  
"I've never been to the Bronze before," Tara replied.  
  
"You're kidding?" Willow asked in surprise.  
  
"No," Tara confirmed. "I.I don't go out much."  
  
"You'll love it there," Willow assured. "It's great. So what do you say, you wanna go?"  
  
"I do," she replied softly. How could she ever refuse a night out with Willow?  
  
"Great," Willow smiled into the phone. "I'll pick you up in an hour." She took a deep breath before continuing. "It's a date." With that, she quickly hung up the phone, her heart beating rapidly; she'd purposefully called this a date.  
  
Willow had planned the conversation in her head, as she'd run over here. After their first kiss, she'd sensed Tara's need to define their relationship, and she too needed some definition. However, seeing as they were both shy, Willow realised that the conversation would be a difficult one. Therefore, by orchestrating a date, Willow could show Tara that she meant a lot to her; that she hadn't been freaked out by their make-out session, and that she was ready to accept this new stage in their relationship, if that's what Tara wanted . . .  
  
With those thoughts Willow rushed to her closet, desperate to find something to wear. She wanted to look good for her first date with Tara. She rolled the phrase around on her tongue; 'first date with Tara', it sounded so good, and made her heart pound. After a few minutes, she pulled the clothes off her body and slipped into a pair of velvety dress pants and a brightly coloured shirt. She looked in the mirror and instantly decided the look was all-wrong.  
  
Half and hour later, the contents of her entire wardrobe (and half of Buffy's), were scattered all over her bed, and she was still no closer to settling on an outfit. Everything she tried just didn't seem right; she wanted to show Tara that she'd made an effort with her appearance -- just for her, but she didn't want to seem as if she'd tried too hard. She needed an outfit that said this night was special, but everything she had was either too cutesy, or too conservative, or too childish, or too dressy, or not dressy enough . . .  
  
Groaning in frustration, she glanced at the clock . . . Damn it, she only had 30 minutes to get to Tara's, and it took her at least 5 minutes to run there. She was never going to be ready in time. Glancing at herself in the mirror, she decided that she'd just have to go with what she was wearing right now. The dark reddish floral skirt and burgundy top didn't look too bad on her, and maybe if she accessorised with her crimson necklace . . . and Buffy's ring. . ?  
  
***  
  
As Willow hung up, Tara just stood there, staring at the phone in her hand. She was stunned by Willow's words. Had she heard correctly? Did Willow really say they were going out on a date? A real honest-to-goodness date? She almost couldn't believe her own ears.  
  
She shook her head as the idea finally began to sink in; she was about to go out on a date with Willow . . . Hanging up the phone, Tara realised she had to get ready; Willow was going to be here in an hour, which didn't leave her much time to prepare. She rushed over to her dresser and began rummaging through her drawers, desperate for something to wear . . .  
  
Her plight was no easier than Willow's. She too tried on numerous outfits before time-constraints forced her to settle. She was now putting the finishing touches on her makeup, when she practically jumped out of her skin at the sound of knocking -- Willow was here. Her heart began racing; she was so nervous. Taking a deep breath, she glanced at herself one last time, before moving to let Willow in.  
  
As she opened the door, Tara felt her breath catch in her throat. She couldn't get over how beautiful Willow was, how breathtaking, how spectacular, how intoxicating . . . As her mind searched for a word to accurately describe her, she finally realised there wasn't one; Willow was a goddess, and therefore no earthly description could ever do her justice.  
  
Willow was reacting much the same as Tara. She thought the blonde looked gorgeous - no - sexy! Willow was speechless as she continued to stare at Tara. Her heart was pounding rapidly, her stomach was churning with nervousness, and all she could do was stand there, completely floored.  
  
"Hey," she whispered after a moment.  
  
"Hey," Tara returned, her eyes locked with Willow's.  
  
Willow wanted to say exactly what she thought about Tara's appearance, but settled on; "You look . . . Wow . . !" She was just too shy and too tongue- tied to say any more.  
  
Tara blushed at Willow's compliment. "So do you," she returned softly.  
  
"Thanks," Willow whispered.  
  
They smiled nervously at one another, neither knowing what to do next. This was their first date, and even though they'd already experienced their first kiss, it felt like they were starting from the beginning. As they continued gazing into each other's eyes, both girl's wanted to lean over and kiss one another, but were too nervous to do so. The didn't want to make a wrong move, and considering this was technically their first real date, protocol dictated that one usually waited until the end of the night to share a kiss . . .  
  
Willow was doing her best to keep her hormones in check. She knew that if she continued staring at Tara, she'd soon forget all about 'first date protocol' and capture Tara's lips with her own. She could still remember how they'd felt against hers earlier that evening, how intoxicating the experience had been . . .  
  
"You wanna head off?" she asked.  
  
Tara nodded. "Okay." She closed the door behind her as Willow stepped aside.  
  
As they began walking down the hall, Willow kept stealing shy glances at Tara. She was so nervous about tonight, and was now debating whether or not to reach out and grab Tara's hand. She decided not to for the moment, seeing as the girl had folded her arms across her chest.  
  
Tara looked over at Willow, and caught the girl staring at her. She smiled warmly at her friend and forced herself to keep her arms crossed. She wanted to reach out and lace her fingers with Willow's, but was afraid the move might be inappropriate, which is why she'd chosen to cross her arms, figuring it would be easier to resist temptation that way.  
  
"How far's the Bronze?" Tara asked as they exited the building.  
  
"Not far," Willow replied. "Shouldn't take us more than about 15 or 20 minutes to walk there."  
  
"Cool," Tara smiled shyly.  
  
They continued walking in silence for a few minutes, before Willow's nervousness got the better of her and she entered babble mode. She began talking about anything that popped into her head, afraid that if she closed her mouth for a second, she might inadvertently do something inappropriate . . .  
  
As they left the campus grounds, no matter how much she tried, Willow just couldn't seem to keep her mouth closed. One minute she was talking about one of her classes, the next she was telling Tara about a particularly exciting night on patrol with Buffy last year. Her words had no sense or meaning, but they just kept on flowing.  
  
Tara was grateful for Willow's babbling; She herself was feeling just as nervous as Willow, only she reacted to nerves in a completely opposite fashion. Whenever she became nervous, her mouth seemed to contract, her mind went blank, and she could no longer speak properly. Whenever she did try to speak, the words either wouldn't come out of her mouth, or she'd stutter so badly that she just became too embarrassed to continue what she was saying. Therefore, it was like Willow's nervousness complemented hers, so that while she was all quiet and speechless, Willow was talkative enough for the both of them.  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Willow stopped mid-sentence as they approached the Bronze. "Oh look," she pointed at the line of people. "Where here!"  
  
Tara smiled. "Looks like a long w.wait," she observed.  
  
"No, we're right," Willow reassured. She smiled at Tara as she bypassed the line and headed straight for the door. "Hey," she greeted the bouncer.  
  
"Hey Willow," The guy smiled. "Long time . . ."  
  
"Been busy," Willow replied. "College and stuff . . ."  
  
"Hope you have a good night." He opened the door for them.  
  
"Thanks," Willow replied.  
  
As they entered the club, Willow suddenly felt very excited. This was Tara's first time here, and she was glad to be the one to show it to her. "I can't believe you've never been here!" she exclaimed, returning to babble mode. "The Bronze is the coolest place in Sunnydale." She continued nervously as they made their way through the crowd. "Of.of course, there's not a lot of competition," she attempted a joke. "I think the vending machine at Burgin's came in second."  
  
Tara tentatively followed Willow, still processing the knowledge that her friend was on a first name basis with the bouncer. "You.you used to come here a lot?" she asked as they neared the pool table.  
  
"We lived here," she replied. "Me, Xander . . ." Willow stopped as she suddenly caught sight of her friend. Buffy was with a group of people Willow had never seen before, and seemed to be urging some guy to chug his beer.  
  
"Buffy?" Willow couldn't believe her eyes. She hadn't expected Buffy to be here tonight, and her presence had caught her entirely off guard. "Wow," she turned to Tara. "I.I didn't think she'd be here . . . "  
  
Willow took a second to mull over the situation. Here she was, on her first date with Tara, a few hours after their first kiss, and who should she come across, but Buffy. If she were really serious about starting a relationship with Tara, then she'd eventually have to introduce her to the gang. It was as if she was being tested; this date had been her way of showing Tara that she was ready to accept the new stage in their relationship, and what better way to show her, than to finally introduce her to Buffy. . ?  
  
Tara looked at Willow, noticing her discomfort. She then looked in the direction of the girl's gaze, then back at Willow. She grimaced inwardly as she took in the situation. Now that Buffy was here, Willow would most likely want to go home; bring their date to an end . . .  
  
Willow put on her resolve face before turning to face Tara. "Come on," she smiled, reaching for the girl's hand. "I want you to meet her . . ."  
  
Tara's whole body trembled as Willow took her hand. She was staggered and delighted at the same time; Willow was finally going to introduce her to her best friend. She'd have to be an idiot not to recognise the implication of Willow's actions.  
  
Still holding hands, the two girls walked slowly towards Buffy. They were feeling very giddy and nervous about the impending introduction.  
  
Buffy was talking to the beer-chugging guy as they approached. "Back off," the witches heard her say. "You're nothing but a disappointment." She pushed the guy playfully as he walked off.  
  
As they watched the guy leave, Willow unconsciously let go of Tara's hand. "Hey Buffy," she greeted.  
  
Buffy seemed surprised to see her. "Willow!" she exclaimed. "And, uh . . ."  
  
Willow noticed Buffy's confusion and took a deep breath before making the introductions. "Buffy," she turned towards the blonde. "This is Tara."  
  
"Hi," Tara smiled nervously at Buffy.  
  
"So we've never met?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Mm," Tara shook her head shyly.  
  
"Cool," Buffy replied with relief. "Just . . . having a thing with names."  
  
"Tara was in my Wicca group," Willow explained.  
  
"Uh-huh," Buffy replied absently. She then turned and walked over to a couch by the wall.  
  
Willow was a little put off by Buffy's reaction, but was too nervous to put much thought into it. She turned towards Tara and smiled at her reassuringly. Impulsively, she softly brushed her hand against Tara's arm, as she motioned for her to follow Buffy.  
  
Tara relaxed at Willow's brief touch and followed the girl as she headed towards Buffy.  
  
"So, what's up?" Willow asked. "Patrol a no go?" She watched as Buffy plopped herself on the couch and uncharacteristically splayed her knees wide as she kicked her boots on the nearby coffee table. She instinctively stayed close to Tara, and as the girl sat down, she took a seat on the arm of her chair.  
  
"Got tired," Buffy explained. "You know, the whole Faith thing. I let off some steam."  
  
"Good for you," Willow smiled. "You shouldn't work yourself too hard."  
  
"That's my philosophy," Buffy replied, rasing her arms and folding her hands behind her head.  
  
At Buffy's response, Willow looked at Tara and smiled. She quickly looked away however, as she realised they weren't alone. "Anyone want a soda?" Her eyes drifted back down to Tara as she asked the question.  
  
Tara looked up at Willow. "Water?"  
  
Willow smiled warmly at the blonde, before glancing at Buffy. At Buffy's shake of the head, she got up and headed towards the bar.  
  
Tara couldn't resist watching Willow as she walked away. The girl was an angel, a thing of beauty, and she was so lucky to have her in her life. As Willow reached the line at the bar, Tara could feel her heart bursting with love for her. She still couldn't believe she was actually here on a date with her, and that only a few hours ago they'd been in her room, holding each other close, their lips merged together in a passionate expression of their affection. At that thought, Tara forced herself to look away; she was in public and it wouldn't do for her to get swept up in her emotions - especially since the last time that happened she'd ended up floating in mid- air.  
  
Buffy noticed Tara's affectionate glance at Willow "So," she began. "You guys've been hanging out a lot lately, huh?"  
  
Tara looked up at the girl's question, a little startled by it. "Yeah," she smiled. "She's, um . . . she's really cool."  
  
Tara watched Buffy as she shook her head and glanced over in Willow's direction. "So Willow's not driving stick anymore," the Slayer quipped.  
  
Tara stopped smiling as she took in Buffy's words. Did Buffy really say what she thought she had? She couldn't have . . . the words were callous and . . .  
  
"Who woulda thought?" Buffy continued. "I guess you never really know someone 'til you've been inside their skin . . ."  
  
Tara dropped her eyes to the floor in confusion. Why was Buffy alluding to Willow in such a disparaging manner?  
  
Buffy's next words were directed straight at Tara. "And Oz is out of the picture?" she asked. "Oh, never seen two people so much in love." She leaned in closer and whispered the next sentence. "She just couldn't get enough of old Oz."  
  
Tara's heart lurched at Buffy's words. It was as if the girl had known the one thing that could upset her the most, and had decided to use it to hurt her. She reminded herself that she'd always known what Buffy had said. The idea wasn't new to her; Willow had been honest about her relationship with Oz from the very beginning. She shouldn't let this girl's words bother her . . . but unfortunately they did.  
  
Tara attempted to let Buffy know she was aware of the situation, but her stuttering made it impossible. "She um . . . said he, uh.uh . . . w.w.w.w.w...w . . ."  
  
"W.w.w.w.what?" Buffy mocked her cruelly, not giving her a chance to finish. "You gonna get that sentence out sometime tonight?"  
  
Dropping her eyes back to the floor, Tara felt like she was about to cry. Buffy's words had been so malicious and spiteful, and they'd really hurt her. She just couldn't understand what was going on here? Why was Willow's friend being so mean? From the way Willow had described her, Buffy was meant to be a nice person.  
  
"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed, jerking Tara out of her thoughts. She'd rushed back urgently - drinks forgotten, as she'd spotted a vamp. "Guy in the corner."  
  
Buffy glanced at the guy. His arm was draped around a girl's shoulder and he was leading her outside with a predatory look in his eye. "Yeah," she agreed. "Good call."  
  
Tara looked up at Willow curiously. "What?" she asked.  
  
Willow turned towards Tara. "Vampire," she explained.  
  
"Wicked obvious," Buffy continued.  
  
Tara glanced at Willow, then at Buffy, as Willow waited expectantly for her to get up and slay the vampire. She suddenly realised that something wasn't quite right about the girl's energy. It was very erratic and conflicted, and it didn't quite seem to flow properly . . . Tara was still confused as to what was going on, but things were starting to make a bit of sense to her. The Buffy that Willow had described would never be so mean and cruel, and would've instantly jumped up after this vampire, so naturally this person wasn't her, or maybe she was, but there was something affecting her, causing her to act unlike herself? Whatever it was, she had to let Willow know, but not here, not around Buffy.  
  
"So I should . . . slay him," Buffy got up.  
  
"You want help?" Willow felt compelled to ask.  
  
"Nah," Buffy replied. "I got it." She headed for the door, grabbing a pool que on her way out.  
  
Once Buffy had exited the club, Willow turned her attention back to Tara. The girl's face was as white as a sheet, and as Willow looked closer, she could see that Tara also seemed physically distressed about something. "What's wrong?" she asked, placing a hand briefly on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"  
  
Tara smiled at Willow. She couldn't talk about Buffy right now, there were too many people, and the girl would be back any moment. She wasn't pleased about having to cut their night short, but if something was wrong with Willow's friend, they had to do something to help her.  
  
"I.I don't f.feel well," she explained truthfully. "Would you m.mind if we went home?" She asked, standing up.  
  
"Of course not," Willow smiled. She reached a hand towards Tara and caressed the girl's arm. "We can go as soon as Buffy gets back. Okay?"  
  
Tara nodded with a smile, comforted by Willow's touch. "Thanks," she whispered.  
  
Willow searched Tara's eyes as she returned the smile. She wasn't thrilled with the idea of ending their date, but was worried about Tara. She suddenly wondered what had come over her so quickly; she'd seemed fine only a moment ago . . . Well, whatever was wrong, she'd take care of her once they got home, make sure Tara was comfortable, and do whatever she could to make her feel better.  
  
A minute later, Willow spotted Buffy. "I'll be a sec," she said to Tara, before rushing to meet the Slayer.  
  
Tara watched nervously as Willow talked to her friend. She folded her arms against her chest in an attempt to calm herself down. She was very worried about what was happening, especially about how Willow was going to react to it. She knew how much the girl cared about her friends, and she'd be devastated to learn something was wrong with Buffy.  
  
After a minute, Willow was walking back towards Tara. "Hey," she greeted her friend.  
  
Tara smiled. "Hey Willow."  
  
"Ready to go?" Willow asked.  
  
Tara nodded. "Mmm hmm."  
  
"Great!" Willow grinned. She reached for Tara's hand and led her out of the club.  
  
As they walked hand-in-hand towards campus, Willow remained quiet. She figured if Tara had a headache or something, she probably wouldn't appreciate her endless babbling. Besides, she noticed how glazed Tara's eyes were. The girl was obviously deep in thought about something, and Willow couldn't help but wonder what it was. She wasn't going to push for an answer though, Tara would tell her what was wrong if and when she wanted to. Willow just hoped it wasn't anything she'd done . . .  
  
After about fifteen minutes though, Willow could no longer contain her uneasiness. The feeling that Tara was upset with her just wouldn't leave her alone. "Tara," she began.  
  
Tara was so immersed in her thoughts that she almost jumped when she heard Willow's voice. She quickly relaxed though, and turned her head towards Willow. "Yeah?" she asked.  
  
"Have I, um . . . done something?" Willow asked shyly.  
  
Tara realised how her silence must've seemed to Willow. "Oh no!" She gave Willow's hand a gentle reassuring squeeze. "I.it's n.not you," she continued.  
  
"Really?" Willow asked, as they neared Tara's room. "Cause if I did . . . I'm sorry," she switched to babble mode. "Really, I.I didn't mean to do anything . . . but you'd tell me . . . wouldn't you . . . If I've done something wrong? Wouldn't you. . ?"  
  
They were now standing in front of her door, and Tara turned to face Willow head on. She looked deep into her eyes and smiled warmly. "You haven't," she said with meaning.  
  
Willow's fears dissolved as she looked at Tara. There was such conviction in the girl's voice that Willow couldn't help but feel better.  
  
Tara gave Willow's hand a quick squeeze before letting it go. She then turned around and entered her room. She crossed her arms against her chest as she continued to dwell on her thoughts.  
  
Willow followed, feeling silly now over her insecurity. "I'm sorry you're feeling all blechy," she began, closing the door behind her. "But we'll get together with Buffy another time, sometime soon," she smiled. "I think you'll really like her." She wanted to let Tara know that even though their date had been cut short, she still wanted her to meet her friends, to be a part of her life.  
  
Tara turned around to face her friend. Despite her pleasure at Willow's words, she still had to let the girl know what was going on. " She's not your friend," she burst out.  
  
Willow's smile faded. "I may have overestimated the 'you liking her' factor . . . " She'd been sure the two of them would get along.  
  
"No . . . No," Tara burst out, realising her words had come out all wrong. "I mean . . . I don't . . ." She sighed as she struggled for a way to express herself. "I don't think she's . . . her."  
  
Willow was confused by Tara's response. "You lost me."  
  
Tara walked towards Willow as she thought about how best to explain. "Well, uh . . . a person's energy has a flow, a unity," she began. "Buffy's was.was fragmented; it.it grated, like something forced in where it doesn't belong." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Plus, she was, um . . . she was kinda mean."  
  
Willow thought about what Tara was saying. Buffy was acting mean . . . as if she wasn't . . ."So you think Buffy's not herself?" she voiced her thought. "Like she's been possessed or something?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Tara replied. She'd thought about it the whole way over here, and she still had no idea what was going on.  
  
Willow thought back to another time she'd heard of something similar happening. "You didn't sense a hyena energy at all did you?" she asked. "Because hyena possession is just . . ." she shivered as she remembered the way Xander had acted. "Unpleasant," she finished off.  
  
Tara didn't know why Willow had mentioned hyenas, but she did know of a way to find out if Buffy had been possessed or not; she'd been thinking about it for the past fifteen minutes. "Do you have anything of hers?"  
  
"Of Buffy's?" Willow asked. Tara nodded. "Uh," Willow looked herself over, quickly remembering Buffy's ring. "Oh," she grabbed her right hand, holding it up. "This ring."  
  
Tara was pleased. It meant that they could maybe do the ritual - it was dangerous though; but she should at least tell Willow about it, let her decide if she wanted to do it or not.  
  
"I.I think there's a way," Tara turned around and walked to her desk. "We can . . . hmm . . . " She opened up her spell book as Willow walked up behind her. She quickly located the page she was after. "The passage to the nether realm," she pointed to the section, before turning to face Willow. "If you can find Buffy there, you should be able to see," she explained.  
  
"If it'll help her," Willow replied.  
  
Tara frowned, realising that Willow wasn't fully aware of the dangers. If she wanted to, Tara would happily be her anchor, but she couldn't let Willow do the ritual if she didn't know what she was getting herself into.  
  
"What?" Willow asked, noticing the worried expression on Tara's face.  
  
"Well," Tara began, turning to face Willow. "The nether realm exists beyond the physical world. Accessing it is. . ." She paused, taking a moment to decide how to most accurately explain it. "It.it's kind of like astral projection," she continued. "It's very intense." She looked meaningfully into Willow's eyes, before proceeding. "I'd have to be your anchor," she said softly. "Keep you on this plane . . ."  
  
The ritual sounded dangerous, but she had complete faith in her friend. With Tara grounding her, she'd be perfectly safe. "I trust you," Willow assured her.  
  
At Willow's quick response, Tara wanted to make doubly sure she understood the dangers. "It.it's not like anything that we've ever . . ."  
  
"I trust you," Willow repeated softly. She looked deep into Tara's eyes and smiled warmly, doing her best to convey just how much she trusted her.  
  
Tara's smile widened, as the meaning behind Willow's words sank in. The girl trusted her . . . really trusted her. As she continued to gaze into Willow's eyes, she could see the deep affection there, and she could feel reality closing in on her, until all she could think about was how good Willow's lips had felt against hers earlier that evening, and how good they would feel against hers now, if she leant over and covered them with her own . . .  
  
Willow was having the same feeling. They were sharing a tender moment, and all she could think about was kissing Tara. She'd wanted to kiss her from the moment their date had started, but had been too nervous. Now however . . .  
  
Willow tentatively moved her hand up to cup Tara's cheek. She caressed her softly, silently letting Tara know she was about to kiss her. She looked at the girl for permission, not wanting to assume anything. When Tara closed her eyes, Willow knew it was okay.  
  
Slowly, she dropped her head down, until her lips were pressed soundly against Tara's. She stayed that way for a moment, letting the fiery sensation gradually seep into her body. When she couldn't take it any longer, she purposefully began to move her lips. She opened them slightly, brushing them heatedly against Tara's. Meanwhile, she reached her other hand up to Tara's cheek, before linking her arms around Tara's neck.  
  
In turn, Tara's arms wrapped themselves around Willow's waist. They were now pressed so close together, that Tara could feel every part of Willow's body against her own. Her attention was quickly brought down to the wetness between her legs, as she realised just how aroused she was getting. Her reaction scared her a little, just as it had earlier that evening. She'd never felt such intense longing for someone, and was terrified by how it threatened to consume her.  
  
Just as Willow was about to deepen the kiss, she remembered the ritual. Much as she would love to lose herself in the heated passion of Tara's mouth, she just had to find out what was wrong with Buffy. Grudgingly, she slowly dragged her lips away from Tara's. She kept her arms around the blonde's neck though, as her forehead came to rest against hers.  
  
"The ritual," Willow whispered. "We should . . ."  
  
"Yeah," Tara agreed. She didn't want to end their embrace, but they had to find out what was wrong with Buffy.  
  
Reluctantly, the girls pulled away from each other; flushed with excitement.  
  
"So," Willow ventured, doing her best to steady her breathing. "We should prepare . . ."  
  
"You can read, while I light the candles," Tara suggested.  
  
"Okay," Willow agreed, taking a seat on the bed.  
  
Once Willow had read over the ritual a few times, she glanced over at Tara, who was lighting a row of candles. Standing up, she decided that privacy was called for. She walked to the window and glanced outside apprehensively, before pulling the curtain closed. She was very nervous about the ritual; connecting to the nether realms was indeed dangerous. Now that she'd read through the procedure, she could see why Tara had been worried. The nether realms could be unstable; once a person had entered, if their link to the real world wasn't strong enough, they could get lost, or worse yet; become so immersed that they actually forgot about coming back to their own dimension.  
  
Willow believed she wouldn't have that problem though -- not as long as she had Tara. The connection between them was intense, stronger than anything she'd ever thought possible. Whenever they linked their energy together, she could physically feel the girl's presence, and even became somewhat attuned to her emotions. Willow recalled the ritual they'd done last night - of course, that had been more of a meditative state, and they hadn't been in danger of never waking up, but the experience could be transferred. Willow knew she'd be safe, because the moment she'd felt like resuming consciousness last night, Tara had instantly picked up on it, and they'd done the count, emerging together.  
  
Comforted by the thought, she walked up behind Tara. "Hey," she whispered in the girl's ear, startling her.  
  
Tara jumped at Willow's voice. She'd been so engrossed in lighting the candles, that she hadn't heard her approach. She turned around now, her face flushed as she noticed how close Willow was. "Hey," she breathed out.  
  
Willow looked into Tara's eyes, pushing away the impulse to kiss her; knowing how easy it would be for her to become distracted. "So," she began. "Should we set up the room?"  
  
Tara nodded, her eyes drifting down to Willow's lips. "Yeah."  
  
Willow smiled, her own eyes copying Tara's. Maybe just one quick kiss . . .  
  
Tara closed her eyes as Willow's lips met hers, giving herself over to the sensation. She put her arms around Willow's shoulders, and opened her mouth slightly as Willow began moving her mouth; letting their lips brush together. Willow put her arms around her waist, and the heady rush of desire that caused, brought Tara's brain to a standstill. She didn't have a single thought in her brain, as she held onto Willow and continued to open and close her mouth against hers  
  
After a moment, she was surprised to notice Willow's tongue had somehow made it into her mouth. When had that happened? Willow's tongue was now circling her own, and Tara unwittingly began copying her movements. Willow arched her back in response, sending a spark of desire down both their bodies.  
  
They instantly sprang apart; the kiss was quickly becoming way too intense. They had a ritual to perform, and they had to remain focused. They were no longer holding onto one another, but were still quite close; their breathing was heavy; and their eyes remained fused together, as they composed themselves.  
  
After a minute, Willow felt calm enough to speak. "We . . . we should, uh . . . make room for the ritual," she ventured.  
  
Tara smiled shyly as she nodded her agreement  
  
Willow smiled back, before turning towards the bed. "Could we move this out of the way?" she asked - referring to the bed. "We need to make room . . ."  
  
Tara nodded, following Willow to the bed. "We c.could fold the bed against the w.wall . . ."  
  
Willow smiled at Tara's suggestion. "Sounds like a plan."  
  
With that, the two girls quickly bent the standard issue mattress and pushed it backwards. There was now enough space on the floor to perform the ritual in comfort. Wordlessly, Tara positioned a rug on the floor, while Willow grabbed a few cushions. She then placed them at the head of the rug.  
  
The girls stood up, admiring their handy-work in silence. They turned towards each other and smiled.  
  
"So, what's next?" Willow asked.  
  
Tara walked over and picked up the spell book. She read over the passage, before looking up at Willow. "The ring . . . and the oil - for the anointment," she explained.  
  
Willow nodded. "Do you have everything we need?"  
  
Tara pointed towards her bedside table, where she kept a lot of her magick stuff. "In there."  
  
"Cool," Willow replied. She walked towards the table and knelt down. "Just tell me what to do," she ventured.  
  
As Tara read out the instructions, Willow prepared everything they would need for the ritual. "Want me to position the candles?" she asked once she was done.  
  
"Okay," Tara replied. She then moved to where Willow had been sitting, while the girl placed the candles strategically around the room.  
  
A minute later, Willow had finished her task, and was sitting down on the edge of the folded bed. She smiled at Tara, and looked at her expectantly. It was time for the anointment. First, Tara would anoint her, and then she would anoint Tara. This act was meant to join the two of them together, so that they were completely linked once she was inside the nether realm.  
  
In Willow's mind, the act of anointing one another was like staking a claim; Tara would be hers, and she would be Tara's. The idea greatly appealed to her, and she suddenly felt her heart racing as she saw Tara reach her thumb into the bowl - The act was commencing. Willow's breathing became laboured as she felt Tara's thumb against her forehead; the touch seared her skin.  
  
She didn't know if her reaction was due to the oil or because it was Tara's thumb doing the touching, all she did know, was that she'd never been this affected by anything. Something was happening here - something powerful, and she could almost physically see the sudden electricity in the air.  
  
Tara's thumb was against her lips now, and Willow couldn't refrain from slightly jutting out her bottom lip, barely kissing Tara's skin. Her desire was rising, and at the sensation of Tara's thumb against her chest, Willow felt like she had actually been burned by Tara's touch.  
  
It was incredible; the three places where Tara had touched her were sizzling now, and as she met Tara's gaze, she couldn't help but smile softly. She felt as if she were somehow connected with Tara, in a way she'd never been before. Getting up slowly, she swapped places with her friend - it was now her turn to claim Tara.  
  
Tara closed her eyes at the sensation of Willow's thumb against her forehead. Just like Willow, she felt as if she were being branded. Her heart warmed at the feeling, as she remembered that Willow already knew she was hers. She still couldn't believe she'd actually had the courage to say that to the girl, but was glad she had. Telling Willow she was hers, had prompted the girl to initiate their first kiss - and what a kiss that had been. . !  
  
Tara's eyes fluttered open as Willow's thumb brushed against her lips. Tara wondered what was happening; Willow's touch seemed different, it gave her a feeling of . . . well, she couldn't quite describe it - never having experienced it before. When Willow finally pressed her thumb against her chest, Tara shook from the sensation. Every part of her body was buzzing, especially the three places where Willow had touched her.  
  
She looked at Willow now, in mutual understanding - they belonged to one another. She was a little startled by the realisation; not by the fact that she belonged to Willow ('cause she already knew that), but by the notion that Willow somehow belonged to her. The thought had briefly crossed her mind a minute ago when she'd anointed Willow, but it wasn't until now that it became a reality to her.  
  
She knew the feeling was due to the anointment, but somehow, she felt as if there was more to it. They had shared their first kiss tonight; moved into a new and scary place in their relationship, feelings had been alluded to, and some part of her realised that all this served to build up the sensations of the anointment. Due to their already intense connection, the act of anointing one another had brought them much closer together than they had ever been.  
  
Exactly the same thoughts were now going through Willow's mind, and she could see the play of emotions on Tara's face, as the girl realised the full extent of their connection. Suddenly, Willow felt like they needed to re-anoint one another. She didn't know what came over her, but those three strategic points on her body that had been anointed by Tara, were calling out to her. They were almost glowing with yearning, and she could see by the look in Tara's eye that she wasn't the only one experiencing this.  
  
Willow realised that what she was about to do, was not exactly part of the ritual. However, witches were always improvising when it came to the magicks - besides, she was just going to re-confirm their bond, make the connection between them stronger, and in turn make her trip to the nether realms safer.  
  
Tentatively, she linked her hands with Tara's, and pulled them both up. They were now standing very close together, as Willow unlinked their hands, before reaching up to cup Tara's face. Slowly, she brought the girl's forehead down to her lips, kissing her in the exact spot her thumb had just been.  
  
She then moved to softly kiss Tara's lips. The sensation was amazing. As her lips touched Tara's she felt this staggering bolt of electricity, causing her lips to burn from the contact. Willow was so gripped by the chaste kiss, that when she finally moved away, every inch of her was tingling with sensation.  
  
Dropping her hands to Tara's shoulders, Willow took a deep breath as she psyched herself up to kiss Tara's chest. She was a little anxious about it, realising how intimate the action was. As she looked at Tara however, Willow felt her nervous tension evaporating. The girl was visibly shaken by her kisses, and was looking at her through half-closed eyes.  
  
Tara hadn't been expecting this re-anointment thing Willow was doing, but she had to marvel at the girl's initiative. Willow's notion to re-anoint each other, would surely bring them closer together, and in turn make it less dangerous for Willow in the nether realm. What's more, the whole experience was arousing her so completely, that she could barely keep her eyes open as she did her best to reassure Willow that it was okay for her to go on.  
  
Her confidence boosted, Willow tentatively bent her head down, and placed her lips against the soft skin of Tara's chest. The fact that her lips were only inches away from Tara's breasts was not lost on Willow. It caused her to blush softly, and as she took in the sensation of Tara's skin against her lips, she had to struggle to keep from collapsing.  
  
As soon as Tara felt Willow's lips on her chest, she instinctively arched her back in response. The spark of desire that resulted from Willow's kiss was so intense, that words just couldn't describe it. All she knew was that Willow's lips were pressed to her chest, and that the sensation was making her more than a little dizzy.  
  
A second later, Willow removed her hands from Tara's shoulders, ending the kiss. She was now breathing erratically, as she gazed into Tara's eyes. She looked at her expectantly, silently inviting her to stake her claim. Willow wanted Tara to know that she was ready and willing to give herself over to her. In the same way that Tara was hers, she was also Tara's.  
  
Sensing what Willow wanted, Tara took a moment to prepare herself. She'd been surprised by Willow's actions, yet had somehow seen them coming. She was now so connected to Willow, that she could almost feel the girl's emotions as if they were her own. However, the notion that Willow was expecting her to mimic her actions, made her more than a little flustered. She was so shy, and re-anointing Willow with her lips was such a brazen act . . .  
  
Eventually, she brought her hands timidly to Willow's face. No matter how shy she was; she loved Willow so much that she couldn't refuse her anything. Gently, she pulled Willow's face downwards in order to kiss her forehead. She then looked into Willow's eyes, before leaning over and pressing their lips together. She almost moaned at the sensation, but forced herself to remain composed. A few seconds later, she pulled away - trembling.  
  
The final kiss was the hardest for Tara. Kissing Willow's chest was so intimate an act that she almost felt like she wouldn't be able to go through with it. Seeing Willow's warm look of encouragement however, Tara braced herself, and finally bent her head. Bashfully, she pressed her lips against Willow's skin, completely aware of how close she was to the girl's breasts.  
  
Willow had seen the apprehension in Tara's eye as she'd contemplated the final kiss. She found her reaction totally adorable. Willow had always hated being shy, but when she saw the same trait in Tara, her heart wholly went out to her. The girl was like a delicate flower - easily crushed.  
  
While Tara completed the final kiss, a sudden intense feeling that they belonged to one another overwhelmed Willow. It was as if that last kiss had sealed the deal, and they were now undeniably bonded. Tara had felt it too, and as she lifted herself up to look at Willow, she could feel her whole body buzzing with the knowledge.  
  
As of one mind, the two girls leaned in towards each other for a kiss. Slowly, they pressed their lips resolutely together in a final show of ownership. They were like one person now, and unconsciously they were using this kiss as a way to transfer some of their energy to one another. A little bit of Tara was now inside Willow, just like a little bit of Willow was inside Tara. The transference of energy was their way of expressing their acceptance of the bond.  
  
When they broke apart a minute later, both girls were stunned by what they'd done. They'd merged themselves together in such an intimate way, that they could now actually feel one another's presence inside their bodies. A simple look told each other they were ready to begin.  
  
Wordlessly, Tara knelt down and picked Buffy's ring up off the table. She dipped it in the oil, anointing it before standing up. She then gently grasped Willow's hand with her own, and placed the ring onto the girl's finger.  
  
Silently, they moved to sit next to each other on the rug, facing opposite directions. Resting their left hand on their own thigh, they began swinging their other hands around in a circular motion, softly chanting the words: "The inward eye, the sightless sea, Ayala flows through the river in me."  
  
The two witches closed their eyes as they chanted. They could still feel the sensation of one another's energy within their bodies, and after a moment, they began releasing this energy. They were now forming a circle around themselves, using the energy that had been transferred into their bodies by one another. Their passion for each other was clearly entrenched in this energy, and as such, their own hidden desires started getting drawn out with it.  
  
A white light, formed by their energy, now circled them. Instantaneously, the young witches stopped releasing their energy, and brought their hands down to rest by their sides. Their chanting had also stopped, and they were now slowly lifting their left hand upwards, until their palms were pressed firmly together. As soon as their hands met, they both felt the sexual charge that always came when they joined their energy. This time however, the sexual charge between them was so intense that it was physically affecting their bodies.  
  
The moment they'd first kissed earlier that evening had forever changed their relationship, and in turn the way the performed magicks together. What made their current sexual charge so intense though, was the way they'd just branded each other. They had taken the anointing part of the ritual to a new stage, and were now dealing with the consequences of their actions.  
  
Their bonding had been entirely sexual in nature, so as a result, the manner in which Willow was to enter the nether realms would also be sexual in nature. Their energy was being released through the palm of their hands, and the more energy they released, the deeper their arousal became.  
  
As her arousal continued to mount, Willow was finding it harder and harder to fully comprehend what was happening. Here she was, preparing to enter the nether realms, and she was in the middle of a very intense sexual experience. Sure, her relationship with Tara had progressed rapidly today - what with their first kiss and all, but she wasn't quite ready to physically make love to her. However, as the sensation of Tara's energy began to stimulate her erotically, all her reservations quickly faded to the background.  
  
Willow could feel the sexual spark coursing through her body, starting from where her hand met Tara's and ending in that special spot right between her legs. Her breathing was becoming heavier and heavier, as her desire continued building inside her. She was fully aware of what was happening to her body, but was so enthralled by the sensations, that she was well past being reserved or embarrassed by it.  
  
Tara's breathing was also becoming laboured, as she too gave herself over to the stimulation. She could feel the now familiar sensation of desire, and as usual the feelings terrified her. She was unable to prevent them from consuming her though. The ritual had already been put into motion, and she could do nothing to stop it until release came.  
  
Willow recognized what was going on as she turned her head towards Tara's. The girl's body was beaded with sweat, her eyes were half-closed and her breathing was quick and heavy. She knew her own appearance was most likely a mirror image of Tara's. They were making love - making love in a way she'd never thought possible. They weren't physically stimulating one another, but due to their intense spiritual connection, they were able to use the simple act of energy transference to invoke a response.  
  
Tara had never experienced anything like this in her life. She loved Willow completely, but to inadvertently be making love to her in this manner was throwing her for a loop. She wanted nothing more than to make love to Willow, to experience the sensation of the girls lips against her body; on her neck; her breasts; her thighs; between her legs . . . as she succumbed to the movement of Willow's tongue inside her . . . However, to be feeling these sensations without any physical contact was more than a little unnerving. She was making love to Willow, without actually making love to her, and her brain struggled to come to terms with the concept.  
  
She'd never actually let herself get this carried away before, and Tara could suddenly feel something happening inside her. Something was growing, building deep within her, begging to come out. Due to their connection, she could also feel the same thing happening to Willow. It was as if she was not only experiencing her own spiral into ecstasy, but Willow's as well.  
  
As her reaction continued to devour her, Tara began to physically feel the intensity of Willow's eyes upon her. Of it's own accord, her head turned slowly so that her eyes were locked with Willows. If they had to make love this way, she should at least be able to gaze upon Willow as they gave in to their desires.  
  
The instant Tara's eyes met hers; Willow could feel her arousal culminating. She'd noticed Tara's desire - seen how stimulated the girl was, and a part of her had wanted to stop the ritual, reach over, and physically finish what they had started. As their eyes locked together though, she felt Tara's arousal as if it were her own. Much as she wanted to use her mouth and hands to bring Tara release, she suddenly became too focused on her own impending explosion. She was bursting with desire, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably as she fell down to the floor and drifted off into what the French would call 'Le petite morte,' or 'The little death,' as it was known in English.  
  
Tara watched enthralled, as Willow fell to the floor. The girl was practically having an orgasm - no wait, no practically about it. Willow really was having an orgasm. The thought brought Tara's own culmination to a finale. While Willow was arching her back and gasping in release, Tara's body was unwittingly shuddering in response. Her reaction was a lot milder than Willow's though, as she somehow managed to infuse her release into Willow through the palm of her hand.  
  
Even though her hand was no longer pressed against Willow's, Tara felt as if there was an invisible string of energy connected between her palm and Willow's. As Willow had erupted and passed out, a part of Tara had joined her, so that she could remain with her as she entered the nether realm, serving as her only link to the real world.  
  
***  
  
As Willow eventually became aware of her surroundings, she noticed that she was drifting around aimlessly. She had no idea where she was at first, or even what she was supposed to be doing.  
  
All of a sudden she felt a burning sensation against the middle finger of her right hand. There was a ring around her finger, and even though she couldn't actually see her own body, she could feel it tightening around her skin.  
  
The ring was pulling at her non-existent body, drawing her essence towards a particular point in space. She didn't know how she got there, but that didn't really seem important to her.  
  
She was inside a darkened room, but surprisingly her eyesight wasn't affected by the darkness. As she looked around, she could make out two softly moaning figures, moving together in a creaking double bed.  
  
They were making love, Willow realised. Whoever these people where, they were utterly enjoying themselves. This was a private moment, and Willow knew she should look away; that she shouldn't be here. However, there was some inexplicable force drawing her towards the bed, urging her to find out the identities of these two gyrating figures.  
  
What she saw there startled her. Nothing had corporeal form in the nether realm, and as Willow looked upon the couple, she noticed that the essence of her best friend's boyfriend was making love to the essence of Faith.  
  
Why was Faith making love to Riley?  
  
Before she could fully comprehend the implications of what she saw, Willow was suddenly being pulled away again. She was inside what she instinctively knew to be a van. It was very dark inside, but once again her eyesight was not affected.  
  
Looking around, she noticed the essence of her best friend. Buffy was in chains, looking miserable as she sat alone inside the locked van.  
  
What was Buffy doing here?  
  
She wanted to go to her friend, unlock her chains, and get her out of here. Just as she moved towards her, Buffy disappeared from view, and Willow was no longer inside the van.  
  
Having seen what she'd come here for, the ring instantly stopped functioning as her guide. She was now therefore at the complete mercy of the nether realm. She was once again drifting around aimlessly, moving around from one place to the next with neither rhyme nor reason.  
  
Everything was a blur to Willow and she was quickly becoming very distressed.  
  
Where was she?  
  
Who was she?  
  
What was she doing here?  
  
Why had she come here in the first place?  
  
Was there something she had to be doing?  
  
Someone she had to see?  
  
Why wouldn't anyone answer her?  
  
***  
  
Tara was sitting cross-legged on the floor, with her left hand outstretched towards Willow. The invisible string of energy was still there, joining her palm with Willow's, keeping the link between them secure. She hadn't moved one inch since Willow had entered the nether realm. She had kept her eyes closed as she focused on keeping her connection with Willow.  
  
She had no idea how much time had passed, but suddenly Tara felt a disturbance in Willow's energy. She could feel Willow's distress as if it were her own. The girl was confused, scared, and had no idea where she was.  
  
Silently, Tara called out to her.  
  
WILLOW!  
  
She reached her mind out towards her friend.  
  
WILLOW!  
  
She called her name again.  
  
COME BACK TO ME WILLOW!  
  
Tara urged Willow to come back, projecting her energy towards the girl, doing her best to locate her essence.  
  
COME BACK TO ME!  
  
***  
  
She turned around at the sound of a voice.  
  
WILLOW!  
  
Willow? Was that her name?  
  
WILLOW!  
  
There it was again. Who was saying it? Whoever it was, their voice sounded oddly familiar, comforting even.  
  
COME BACK TO ME WILLOW!  
  
Slowly, she found herself drifting towards the voice, seeking it out, knowing instinctively that she could trust it.  
  
COME BACK TO ME!  
  
The voice was pulling at her essence, guiding her home - where she would be safe.  
  
***  
  
As the real world slowly began to materialise around her, the first thing Willow became aware of was Tara. She had yet to remember who she was, what she had seen, or even why she had been to the nether realms in the first place. However, as she opened her eyes and caught sight of Tara looking down on her, the only thought in her mind was that she was home, and that here was the one person that she felt safe with.  
  
Seeing Willow open her eyes, Tara's heart burst with joy. Within seconds, she was at the girl's side, sitting her up slightly so she could put her arms around her. She placed one hand around her neck, and the other at her waist. She'd been so scared when she'd felt Willow's distress, and she was now extremely grateful to have her back.  
  
As Tara pulled her into an embrace, Willow instinctively put her own arms around the girl's waist. She gripped her tightly, needing to be as close to her as possible. She was slowly beginning to regain her memory, but reality was still a little hazy. One thing she had remembered though, was that Tara was hers. She couldn't quite recall how she knew that, or when she'd heard it, but somehow she knew without a doubt that this girl belonged to her in some way.  
  
"Mine," she whispered against Tara's neck.  
  
"Yours," Tara agreed. Her heart was racing at the way Willow had just claimed her. She could tell the girl was still a little out of phase with reality, but it pleased Tara to realise how important she must be to Willow - for Willow to remember that she belonged to her, before remembering much else - well that said a lot to Tara.  
  
"You found me," Willow whispered after a moment. She could remember how lost she'd been, how scared and confused, and how Tara's voice had called out to her amidst the confusion.  
  
"Mmm," Tara agreed, placing a soft kiss against Willow's cheek.  
  
At Tara's chaste kiss, Willow's body screamed with desire. She was still feeling buzzed from the way she'd entered the nether realms, and Tara's lips against her skin had felt so intense that she could feel her body aching with need.  
  
Tara dragged her lips away from Willow's skin as she noticed the girl's reaction. It was as if Willow's body was calling out to her . . . She pulled back a little to look her in the eye, and felt her heart stop beating at the intense desire she saw there.  
  
Willow wanted her! She wanted her now! Tara knew it was because of the ritual - that Willow was still affected by their stimulating energy transference - but how could she refuse the intense yearning she saw in Willow's eye. . ? Especially since it completely matched her own.  
  
Seeing her desire mirrored in Tara's gaze, Willow pulled up enough courage to wrap her arms around the girl's neck, and bring her lips down to meet hers. The sudden movement put them both off balance, and Willow dragged Tara's body down with hers as she fell back to the floor. Luckily the cushions were there to break her fall, and Willow was somehow able to keep their lips fused together as they'd descended.  
  
Her hands were now moving against Tara's back, as their lips brushed furtively together. Tara's arms had come to rest on either side of her face, as the girl supported her own weight.  
  
Suddenly, Willow cursed their like decision to wear skirts. She'd attempted to bend her knees so that she could position her legs around Tara's, but their skirts had constricted her movements. It was then that Willow suddenly realised what she was doing. She was about to make love to Tara - really make love to her.  
  
What was she thinking? It was too soon . . . she wasn't ready. Sure, they'd simulated the act of lovemaking during their ritual, but they hadn't actually physically touched each other. They'd moved their relationship so far today already; that Willow felt it was time to take a step back and slow down.  
  
She didn't want to rush into things with Tara. She wanted to take the time to completely absorb each new stage in their relationship before she moved on. Even though her whole body was aching for Tara, and she wanted her desperately, she couldn't let their first time happen because they were feeling the after-effects of a spell.  
  
Besides, they still hadn't even discussed what they meant to one another. How could she make love to Tara when their feelings still remained unspoken? Although, Tara had told her she was hers, but that didn't mean she was her girlfriend, or that she was in love with her . . . did it?  
  
Tara could sense the general drift of Willow's thoughts. The girl had slowly pulled their lips apart, and had lifted her hands to cup her face, locking their eyes together. As Willow had looked at her, Tara could see the conflicting emotions on her face, and had realised that even though Willow wanted her, she wasn't ready to move their relationship quite that far yet.  
  
The thought actually pleased Tara. Seeing as she'd never really made love before, she was still a little nervous about the whole prospect. However, if that's what Willow had wanted, she wouldn't have been able to resist - she loved the girl too much. With that thought, Tara moved away from Willow and went to sit down in her armchair - she needed a moment or two to compose herself.  
  
Willow instantly missed the contact, but was grateful for the chance to pull herself together. As her breathing returned to normal, she suddenly remembered about Buffy, Faith and the whole nether realms fiasco.  
  
"I saw her," Willow said as she sat up.  
  
Tara looked over at her friend. "Who?' she asked.  
  
"Faith . . . I mean Buffy . . . no Faith and Buffy . . ." She was still a little confused about what she'd seen. Why had Faith been sleeping with Riley . . . and what was up with Buffy and the dark van?  
  
"What?" Tara asked in confusion.  
  
Willow took a moment to think of how best to explain what she'd seen. "It's weird," she began. "When I stepped into the nether realms, I saw Faith and Riley making love . . ."  
  
But wasn't Riley Buffy's. . ? "Faith?" she asked. "And Riley?"  
  
"Yeah," Willow agreed. "And what's more, I saw Buffy locked up and miserable in some dark van."  
  
"Locked up l.like Faith was supposed to be?" Tara began to see the picture, and looking at Willow, she saw that the girl was right there with her.  
  
"They switched!" Willow exclaimed. How was that possible? No wonder Buffy had been acting weird. "They switched bodies . . . Buffy is Faith and Faith is Buffy . . . Oh no, the Watchers council - they've got Buffy, and their into wetworks . . . We've got to do something to help!"  
  
Willow stood up and began pacing the room. "I can't believe she's done it again. She's totally messed with Buffy, and she's slept with Riley . . ."  
  
Willow stopped her pacing then and turned to face Tara. "I don't know how Buffy's gonna handle that," she continued. "Last time when Faith tried to get between her and Angel, Buffy was devastated. She'll be crushed that Faith's up to her old tricks. And what about Riley? I don't think he'll be too pleased to hear he's slept with Faith . . ."  
  
Tara stood up and pulled Willow into her arms. She could see how distressed the girl was, and wanted to do everything in her power to relax her. "It'll be okay," she whispered against the girl's hair. "We'll do some research."  
  
Willow felt herself melting instantly into Tara's embrace. Tara's touch always managed to calm her down. "Research . . ." she mumbled. "Yeah, that could work." Keeping her arms around Tara's waist, she gently pulled away to look into her eyes. "We can find a way to switch them back," Willow realised.  
  
Tara smiled at Willow. "Yeah."  
  
Impulsively, Willow leaned over and pressed her lips against Tara's. She pulled back a few seconds later - tingling from the sensation. "Thanks," she whispered.  
  
The girls pulled away then, and moved towards Tara's bookshelf to begin their research. They read in silence for a few hours, until Tara suddenly located something she thought was useful. There was a passage about a Draconian Katra spell that could be used to swap two people's essences. They didn't have enough ingredients to conjure up a Katra right now though, and seeing as it was really late, the magick shop would definitely be closed. What's more they were both still drained from the energy they'd expended during the ritual. Which is why they decided to do the spell first thing in the morning. After they'd both showered and changed into their nightclothes, the girls put the bed back into place, before crawling under the covers. They instantly went into each other's arms, wrapping their bodies tightly together as they lay on their sides.  
  
As she looked at Tara, Willow went over the day's events in her mind. She couldn't believe how much had happened today, and how close she'd gotten to Tara. Their relationship was still undefined, but she was way too tired to talk about it right now. Instead, she leaned over and pressed her lips against Tara's. She kept the kiss chaste, knowing that she was too tired to have it escalate.  
  
Tara sighed as Willow's lips left hers. She too couldn't believe how close they'd gotten today. She suddenly wanted to let Willow know exactly much she cared about her, and that everything would be okay - that they'd find a way to switch Buffy and Faith back, but as she opened her mouth to speak, she noticed that Willow's breathing had already become even. The girl was asleep - today's events had finally caught up with her. Pulling her even closer, Tara closed her own eyes and soon drifted off to sleep.  
  
***  
  
The next morning Tara had gotten up early, seen how peaceful Willow looked, and had decided to head off to the magic shop by herself. She'd come back with a couple of mochas along with all the ingredients they would need for the spell.  
  
After the girls had conjured the Katra, they had run all the way to Giles' place. Willow had been a little unnerved by the sight of Buffy in Faith's body. She'd known the girl wasn't Faith, but it had still felt a little weird. She'd been pleased to finally introduce Tara to everyone though, and also a little proud - It was Tara after all, who had realised Buffy wasn't Buffy, and it was Tara who had told her about the ritual, and then Tara again who had located the passage on Draconian Katra spells.  
  
As they'd headed off to the church, Tara had stayed close to Willow's side. She'd been a little nervous at meeting Willow's friends, and she also wasn't used to so much excitement. Willow had noticed this, and during their trip to the church, she'd looked Tara occasionally and smiled softly, sometimes even briefly placing a hand against her arm, or her knee, or her shoulder - in reassurance.  
  
When Buffy and Faith had finally switched back, Willow had decided not to tell Buffy about seeing Faith and Riley in bed. She figured it would be best coming from Riley. That's where Buffy was now actually. She'd gone home with Riley while Giles had given the two witches a lift back to Tara's dorm. Buffy would know about Riley and Faith soon enough, and Willow would be there for her to talk to. Not right now however - Willow wanted to properly say goodbye to Tara first  
  
***  
  
As they stepped inside Tara's room, Willow closed the door behind them.  
  
"I need to get home," Willow began.  
  
Tara smiled at Willow and nodded her agreement. She realised that Buffy would need someone to talk to "I know," she replied. "Do you think she knows yet?"  
  
"I don' know," Willow replied. "But she will soon, and I wanna be there to make sure she's okay."  
  
"Yeah," Tara agreed.  
  
"But I'll be back tonight," Willow replied. "Buffy'll be out on patrol then, so we can do something."  
  
Tara nodded, and then blushed, as she thought about what exactly she wanted to do with Willow. Willow noticed Tara's blush and smiled. Feeling affectionate, Willow leaned over and impulsively kissed Tara's lips.  
  
Tara's blush deepened as Willow pulled away. This was the first time Willow had kissed her today. Their relationship had deepened yesterday, but today, they had both been a little nervous and unsure about the events. Tara suddenly needed to know exactly what they were to one another. They had yet to speak about their relationship, and Tara just couldn't wait till tonight to bring up the subject.  
  
"Willow," she began softly.  
  
"Yes," Willow returned, her hands gripping Tara's. She looked into the girl's eye, a warm smile on her face.  
  
"A.are we. . ?" Tara trailed off shyly.  
  
She couldn't get the word out; girlfriends . . . Tara hung her head, letting her face cover her eyes; she was suddenly too embarrassed to even look at Willow. What had possessed her to ask such a question?  
  
Looking at Tara, Willow instantly knew what the girl meant. It was about time they brought this up. She'd wanted to talk about it ever since their first kiss yesterday, but hadn't found the right time.  
  
"Do you . . . wanna be?" she asked softly. Willow's heart was beating a mile a minute as she waited for Tara's response; a tiny part of her was still a little insecure about Tara's feelings.  
  
At Willow's words, Tara's heart began racing; of course she wanted to be Willow's girlfriend. She wanted it more than she'd ever wanted anything in her whole life. Being Willow's girlfriend meant more to her than words could ever express. She lifted her head slightly and shyly looked at Willow through a veil of hair. She smiled softly, nodding her head timidly before looking back down at the floor.  
  
"I do," she whispered ever so quietly, too shy to meet Willow's eyes. What if Willow didn't want to be her girlfriend though. . ?  
  
Willow exhaled sharply; she'd been unwittingly holding her breath in anticipation. She let go of Tara's hand, cupping the girl's chin with her thumb and forefinger. Slowly, she lifted Tara's face upwards, needing to look her in the eye as she replied.  
  
"Then . . . we are."  
  
Tara almost couldn't believe her ears. Did Willow just say they were girlfriends? Her heart was beating a mile a minute as she gazed into Willow's eyes. Silently asking her to confirm what she'd just said. It was as if Willow had sensed her silent question, because a second later, she was in Willow's arms, and their lips were pressed firmly together in their first kiss as an official couple.  
  
A moment later they pulled away, breathing hard. They didn't want to loose themselves in the kiss, knowing that Willow had to go any minute. As they looked into each other's eyes, both girls were suddenly feeling very shy. The knowledge that they were a couple now - girlfriend's, had completely flustered them.  
  
Knowing that they'd have plenty of time together tonight, Willow forced herself to release Tara. "I'll see ya tonight," she ventured.  
  
"Okay," Tara agreed shyly.  
  
With that, Willow exited Tara's room, giddy with the knowledge that Tara was her girlfriend. She knew it would be a while yet till she'd be able to let the Scoobies know the exact nature of their relationship, but at least she'd made the introductions. Willow figured that once they got to know Tara, they'd realise how great a person she really was, and that when sometime down the track she told them the truth, they'd understand how she could fall in love with her, and not be too freaked out with the fact that she was in a gay relationship.  
  
THE END. 


End file.
